Teacher depressive symptoms and children's school readiness in Ghana

Morgan Peele; Sharon Wolf; Jere R. Behrman; J. Lawrence Aber

doi:10.1111/cdev.13909

Teacher depressive symptoms and children's school readiness in Ghana

Morgan Peele, Sharon Wolf, Jere R. Behrman, J. Lawrence Aber

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This study investigated associations between kindergarten teachers' (N = 208) depressive symptoms and students' (Ghanaian nationals, N = 1490, M_age = 5.8) school-readiness skills (early literacy, early numeracy, social–emotional skills, and executive function) across 208 schools in Ghana over one school year. Teachers' depressive symptoms in the fall negatively predicted students' overall school-readiness skills in the spring, controlling for school-readiness skills in the fall. These results were primarily driven by social–emotional skills (r =.1–.3). There was evidence of heterogeneity by students' fall skill levels; teacher depressive symptoms predicted more negative spring overall school readiness for children who had higher fall school-readiness skills. Findings underscore the importance of teachers' mental health in early childhood education globally, with implications for policy and practice.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	706-720
Number of pages	15
Journal	Child development
Volume	94
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13909
State	Published - May 1 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
Education
Developmental and Educational Psychology

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10.1111/cdev.13909

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title = "Teacher depressive symptoms and children's school readiness in Ghana",

abstract = "This study investigated associations between kindergarten teachers' (N = 208) depressive symptoms and students' (Ghanaian nationals, N = 1490, Mage = 5.8) school-readiness skills (early literacy, early numeracy, social–emotional skills, and executive function) across 208 schools in Ghana over one school year. Teachers' depressive symptoms in the fall negatively predicted students' overall school-readiness skills in the spring, controlling for school-readiness skills in the fall. These results were primarily driven by social–emotional skills (r =.1–.3). There was evidence of heterogeneity by students' fall skill levels; teacher depressive symptoms predicted more negative spring overall school readiness for children who had higher fall school-readiness skills. Findings underscore the importance of teachers' mental health in early childhood education globally, with implications for policy and practice.",

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Teacher depressive symptoms and children's school readiness in Ghana

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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