Depression, Control, and Climate: An Examination of Factors Impacting Teaching Quality in Preschool Classrooms

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of preschool teachers’ self-reported depressive symptomatology, perception of classroom control, and perception of school climate to classroom quality as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS Pre-K). The sample consisted of 59 urban preschool classrooms serving low-income and linguistically diverse students in the northeastern and southeastern United States. Results of hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers’ individual report of depressive symptomatology was significantly and negatively predictive of their observed instructional support and classroom organization quality domains. The findings of this study have implications for increasing access to mental health supports for teachers in an effort to minimize depressive symptoms and potentially improve classroom quality