Appendix I 2024 NSECE Workforce (Classroom Staff) Questionnaire Items - Overview and Comparison

Appendix I. 2024 NSECE Workforce (Classroom Staff) Questionnaire Items - Overview and Comparison

2019 Category	2019 Construct	2024 Construct	First Item of 2024 Construct	Key Changes from 2019 to 2024
Section A: Qualifications and Experiences Section A: Qualifications and Experiences Section A: Qualifications and Experiences Section A: Qualifications and Experiences	Years worked at program	Years worked at program	A1
	Years of paid early care and education (ECE) work experience	Years of paid early care and education (ECE) work experience	A2
	Any home-based ECE work since turning 18	Any home-based ECE work since turning 18	A2a_a
	N/A	Any center-based ECE work at different program since turning 18	A2a_b	Career Trajectories (prior ECE work experience): Added items to learn more about caregivers’ career trajectories within the ECE field, including: prior paid work at a different ECE center-based program, and setting of most recent prior ECE job at different program.
	N/A	Setting of most recent prior job in ECE at different program	WF22_New1_A
	Educational attainment of caregiver	Educational attainment of caregiver	A3
	Educational field of study of caregiver	Educational field of study of caregiver	A5_M
	N/A	Debt owed by caregiver related to education and/or training	WF22_New16_A	New items added about caregivers’ student loan debt associated with education and career advancement.
	ECE credentials	ECE credentials	A6A_M
	Caregiver professional development (PD)	Caregiver professional development (PD)	A7	Replaced professional development (PD) items to make room for items that better align with research on effective PD; 2019 had four PD sub-constructs: PD activities in last 12 months, PD done with other staff, caregiver attended series of 2+ workshops, and caregiver enrolled in a college course with observations; 2024 maintains one 2019 construct (PD activities in last 12 months), removes the other three 2019 constructs, and adds one new 2024 construct – delivery mode of PD (virtual, in-person or mixed).
	Caregiver health and safety training	Caregiver health and safety training	A15
	Caregiver training in working with children of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds	Caregiver training in working with children of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds	A17	Note: In 2019, this construct was included under the broader 'caregiver PD’ construct. For 2024, separated out as own construct.
	N/A	Caregiver experiences getting training or education to advance career in ECE	A6C	Career advancement: Added items to ask about whether caregiver faced difficulties trying to get training or education to advance career in ECE, and about caregiver's access to affordable and conveniently located training/education opportunities.
	PD assistance	PD assistance*	A8b1	Item level change: One of the 2019 items associated with this construct was dropped in 2024 related to whether employer provided assistance with transportation and child care costs.
	PD plan	PD plan	A18
	Whether caregiver was required to demonstrate skills/be observed	Whether caregiver was required to demonstrate skills/be observed	A20	Note: In 2019, this construct was included under the broader 'caregiver PD' construct. For 2024, the item associated with this construct was moved and is now listed as separate construct.
	N/A	Time spent last week reflecting on practice with other staff	A7F_NEW_A	Professional learning/improvement as part of ongoing caregiver and center practice: Added items related to effective professional learning and improvement practices—i.e., those that are part of the ongoing practice of the center, including whether center staff meets for reflection time, and whether reflection time is paid and done when caregivers are not responsible for children.
	N/A	Whether reflection time is paid and done while caregiver is responsible for children	A7F_A_NEW
	Topic of most recent PD activity, besides health and safety	Dropped		Removed items not aligned to research on effective PD practices to make space for items aligned with updated evidence on effective/high-quality PD.
	Time spent on PD	Dropped
	Professional organization membership	Dropped
	Union membership	Union membership	A10
	Main reason for working with children	Main reason for working with children	A11
	N/A	Intent to stay in ECE field for next three years	WF22_New99_B	Career Trajectories (aspirations, plans): Added item to ask about caregivers’ intent to stay in the ECE field for the next 3 years.
Section B. Employment Schedule and Compensation Section B. Employment Schedule and Compensation	Number of hours worked per week	Number of hours worked per week	B1
	Number of different classrooms or groups respondent usually works with	Number of different classrooms or groups respondent usually works with	B1a
	Number of months worked in program during last year	Number of months worked in program during last year	B2
	Current wage	Current wage	B4_M
	N/A	Receipt of additional payments for ECE workers in last 12 months	B4a	Additional compensation: Added items related to caregivers’ receipt of compensation over and above wages to support advancement, retention and wellbeing, e.g., bonus payments or special payments for ECE workers.
	Whether most of the work involve children with disabilities	Whether most of the work involve children with disabilities	B5
	Current title at program	Current title at program	B6
	N/A	Whether caregiver previously had a different role/title at current program	B6a	Career trajectories: Added items about prior roles and titles at current program to learn more about career pathways and progression.
	N/A	Previous title at current program	B6b
	Health insurance coverage	Health insurance coverage	B7_M
	N/A	Paid time off or vacation time accrual	WF14	Benefits: Added items about critical benefits to support worker well-being.
	N/A	Employer offers pay raises for new degree or ECE credential	WF22_New_8	Career ladders: Added items about “on-the-job” career ladders, i.e., whether employer offers opportunities to advance by earning new degrees/credentials.
	Caregiver has looked for another job in past three months	Caregiver has looked for another job in past three months	B9
	Reason caregiver has looked for another job	Reason caregiver has looked for another job	B9a_M
	Caregiver home zip code	Caregiver home zip code	B10
Section C: Activities in the Classroom Section C: Activities in the Classroom	Confirmation respondent works most often in selected classroom	Confirmation respondent works most often in selected classroom	C1_1_M
	Age of children respondent works most often	Age of children respondent works most often	C1_2_M
	Any curriculum used	Any curriculum used	C1A
	Name of curriculum used	Name of curriculum used	C1B_M
	Received training to use curriculum	Received training to use curriculum	C5
	Activity planning for children	Activity planning for children	C3
	When activity planning occurs	When activity planning occurs	C3a_M
	Children’s time spent with screens	Children’s time spent with screens	C4_M
	Time spent on children’s activities	Time spent on children’s activities*	G_ACTIVITY_a	Activities in classroom: Items related to time spent on activities streamlined so that they do not require filtering by infant/toddler vs. preschool classrooms, while preserving the same information about activities from prior NSECE surveys.
Section CL: About the People in the Classroom	Number of usual staff in classroom	Number of usual staff in classroom	CL1
	Race/Ethnicity of classroom staff	Race/Ethnicity of classroom staff*	CL2	Item updated to align with item on race/ethnicity of children in the classroom below.
	Number of children enrolled in the classroom	Number of children enrolled in the classroom	CL5
	Race/Ethnicity of children in classroom	Race/Ethnicity of children in classroom*	CL6_1	Item revised to align with item on race/ethnicity of staff in the classroom above.
	Number of children who speak a language other than English at home	Number of children who speak a language other than English at home	CL9
	N/A	Adult in classroom that can provide instruction/caregiving in children’s home languages other than English	WF21_1
	Number of children whose parents have limited English proficiency	Number of children whose parents have limited English proficiency	CL11
	Number of children experiencing food insecurity	Number of children experiencing food insecurity	CL8a
Section D. Staff Attitudes and Orientation to Caregiving Section D. Staff Attitudes and Orientation to Caregiving Section D. Staff Attitudes and Orientation to Caregiving Section D. Staff Attitudes and Orientation to Caregiving	Parental Modernity Scales – Traditional Belief Subscale	Dropped	N/A	Attitudes towards caregiving: Removed two Parental Modernity Subscales (Traditional and Progress Belief Scales)
	Parental Modernity Scales – Progressive Belief Subscale	Dropped	N/A
	Curbow job stress inventory’s “job demands” subscale	Dropped	N/A	Work stressors: Removed items related to on-the-job daily stressors, including measures included from the Curbow jobs stress inventory’s “job demands” subscale to make room for additional work-related stressors related to compensation/wages, benefits, and supports in the workplace for worker well-being linked to turnover, retention and wellbeing in updated research.
	Curbow job stress inventory’s “job resources” subscale	Dropped	N/A
	Other job-stress related indicators: Caregiver moved from normal classroom	Dropped	N/A
	N/A	Multicultural teaching/caregiving competencies	WF8_1	Multicultural teaching/caregiving: Added item from a Multicultural Teaching Competencies Scale related to caregiving and teaching attitudes and skills.
	Frequency of speaking with parent’s about child’s family	Dropped	N/A	Dropped item and added new communication items below.
	N/A	Frequency of speaking with parents about children’s learning/development and problems in care	WF11_3	Family-caregiver communication: Added items related to communication about different topics. New items from the Family Respect Subscale from the Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality (FPTRQ) Measures.
	Frequency of discussion with supervisor about skills to help children learn	Frequency of discussion with supervisor about skills to help children learn	D7_a_REVISED
	Frequency of discussion with supervisor about skills to help children’s behavior	Dropped	N/A	Item dropped and new items added about supervisor support below.
	N/A	Supervisor knows caregiver’s teaching well	WF_D7_SEQUAL
	Any annual formal performance review	Any annual formal performance review	D8
	Perceived work environment: Center has respect for staff; Center encourages teamwork; Center helps staff with difficult children	Perceived work environment: Center has respect for staff; Center helps staff with difficult children*	D9A	One of the three items on perceived work environment included in 2019 was removed in 2024 (Center encourages teamwork).
	N/A	Wellness supports in work environment; Center has space to relax (away from children), adult-sized furniture, and designated daily breaks for staff	WF12_1	Workplace supports for worker wellbeing: Added items related to presence of conditions for caregivers linked to worker wellbeing and reduced turnover, including factors like access to break facilities away from children, and designated daily breaks, for example.
	N/A	Perceptions and experiences of unfair treatment at work (adapted from David Williams’ Major Experiences of Discrimination Measures)	WF12	Added items about caregiver’s perceptions and experiences of unfair treatment at work on the basis of aspects of a their identity.
	Opinions about background checks for childcare staff	Dropped	N/A	Background checks: Items about opinions of background check policies removed and replaced with items asking whether program covers the cost of required background checks for staff.
	N/A	Experiences with background checks for childcare staff	D_BKGD_EXP_E1
	N/A	Staff experiences with distributed leadership: Staff has input into matters that affect everyone in program	WF23_DL_1_A
	N/A	Staff experiences with distributed leadership: Staff input is taking seriously.	WF23_DL_1_B
	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D7)	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D7)	D11
	N/A	Job-related worker burnout (Maslach)	WF13_1	Worker burnout: Added measure related to work-related burnout.
	Bridget Hamre’s instructional approach/knowledge	Bridget Hamre’s instructional approach/knowledge*	D14	Hamre Items about instructional approach/knowledge reduced from four items in 2019 to two items in 2024.
	N/A	Caregiver’s knowledge about family support for children’s learning (from Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality (FPTRQ) Scale)	WF11_1	Added new item about caregiver-family connection
Section E. Demographics Section E. Demographics	Sex	Dropped	N/A	Demographics: Removed previous sex/gender question and moved revised gender question to later in section E
	Year of birth	Year of birth	E2
	Ethnicity	Ethnicity	E3_M
	Race	Race	E4_M
	Respondent speaks any language other than English	Respondent speaks any language other than English	E5
	Frequency of English use in work with children	Frequency of English use in work with children	E6
	Languages other than English spoken with children or parents	Languages other than English spoken with children or parents	E19
	Country of birth	Country of birth	E9
	Year moved to United States	Year moved to United States	E10
	N/A	Gender Identity	E1	Added item on gender identity of respondent aligned with guidance set out in: OMB (Jan 2023) Recommendations on the Best Practices for the Collection of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data on Federal Statistical Surveys (whitehouse.gov)
	N/A	Sexual Orientation	E_SO	Added item on sexual orientation of respondent aligned with guidance set out in: OMB (Jan 2023) Recommendations on the Best Practices for the Collection of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data on Federal Statistical Surveys (whitehouse.gov)
	Current marital status	Current marital status	E11
	Self-rated health	Self-rated health	E20
	Annual household income: Exact dollar amount	Annual household income: Exact dollar amount	E14
	Annual household income: Ranges	Annual household income: Ranges	E15
	Percentage of household income stemming from childcare work	Percentage of household income stemming from childcare work	E17
	N/A	Household Size	WF16_1	Added detail to collect caregiver’s household size.
	N/A	Receipt of child care assistance	WF15_4
	N/A	Receipt of food assistance: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)	WF15_2_A	Public assistance: Added questions about receipt of child care and food assistance.
	N/A	Receipt of food assistance: Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC)	WF15_2_B
	N/A	Financial resources to cover emergency expense	WF16_2	Financial circumstances: Added items about financial security (financial resources to cover emergency expense).
	Receipt of any financial assistance from government programs	Dropped	N/A
	Number of children under 5 in household	Dropped	N/A
	Number of children ages 6-12 in household	Dropped	N/A

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Appendix I. 2024 NSECE Workforce (Classroom Staff) Questionnaire Items - Overview and Comparison