Who’s teaching the teachers? An exploration of early childhood teacher preparation program faculty’s cultural competence, work burnout, and teaching efficacy

ABSTRACT Over recent decades, the demographic composition of children in the United States has rapidly shifted, culturally and linguistically. Concomitantly, there has been an increased need for early childhood education (ECE) teacher preparation programs to develop a culturally competent ECE workforce who are equipped to provide equitable learning experiences for culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Given increasing attention and calls from education researchers, policymakers, and other partners to develop a culturally competent ECE workforce, the current study sought to explore program faculty’s cultural competence, specifically their culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) teaching practices, and its association with feelings of work burnout and perceived teaching efficacy – two factors likely to be influenced by such heightening demands and to impact pre-service teachers’ own teaching competencies. Using structural equation modeling, the current study examined survey responses from 117 program faculty measuring their cultural competence and its association with feelings of work burnout and teaching efficacy. Analyses indicated that, overall, program faculty with higher levels of cultural competence reported minimal feelings of work burnout and higher teaching efficacy, and vice versa. Findings from the current study provide important research and practice strategies for the field of ECE teacher preparation.