Teacher turnover and residential instability: Exploring joint and contextual associations with child behavior

Abstract

This paper explored whether within-year teacher turnover and residential instability jointly predict child behaviors when they co-occur. Specifically, we investigated this question in a nationally representative sample of Head Start children using the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), in the years before and after the Great Recession (2006-2009); a sample and a time in which there were high rates of both turnover and residential moves. A secondary question we asked was whether children's behavior problems were only expressed in the context in which they experienced instability, such as behavior problems emerging in the classroom in response to teacher turnover, or more globally, such as seeing these behaviors at home and school. Results indicated that experiencing both forms of instability contemporaneously did not uniquely predict children's negative behaviors. However, they did find that residential instability was associated with children's behaviors both at home and school, whereas teacher turnover only predicted children's school behaviors. Notably, these effects largely emerged in the time leading up to the Great Recession; afterwards, neither form of instability consistently predicted children's negative behaviors. These findings suggest that during times of economic turmoil, residential moves are associated with larger disruptions to children's well-being, emphasizing a need for policies that act as stabilizers, such as suspending evictions. They similarly signal a need for more teacher supports during this time, as both turnover and residential instability are associated with disruptive classroom behaviors that could be difficult to manage.