Presentations

This page includes highlights to my research. To see all research, consider viewing my CV.

Examining Burnout in Early Career Early Childhood Special Educators
Conference: Teacher Education Division (TED) 2025 Conference
Abstract: The field of special education, particularly early childhood special education, faces a retention issue due to burnout. Very little has been examined to understand the socio-emotional needs of early childhood special educators and how to support them. This study seeks to understand the phenomenon of burnout in early childhood special educators and how we can best support their mental well-being. This study contributes to the longstanding discussion on teacher burnout but will highlight preliminary findings as related to how self-regulatory skills, self-efficacy beliefs and teacher well-being can affect the risk for burnout.
Citation: Didrichsen, S. (2025, November 13). Examining Burnout in Early Career Early Childhood Special Educators. 2025 TED Conference, Kansas City, MO. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29886.55364
References (If QR scanning is being tricky): poster-references



This is a poster session with preliminary results for my dissertation, which will be completed in May 2026.

Gamified Self-regulation Assessments in Early Childhood Education: Aiming for Equity and Feasibility
Conference: International Society of Learning Sciences (ISLS) 2024
Abstract: Self-regulation skill development in early childhood lays the foundation for academic success by enabling children to take advantage of learning opportunities. Early childhood educators must be prepared to target self-regulation skills using developmentally appropriate assessments, which limit the potential for bias which is common in observational approaches. This study reports on n=14 teachers’ perceptions and experiences with a new teacher-facilitated, largely child-led tablet-based assessment of self-regulation called HTKS-Kids. Findings have implications for increasing equitable assessment opportunities for students with disabilities and English language learners.
Citation: Didrichsen, S., Starke, K., Kwan, T., McClelland, M. M., Karalis Noel, T., & Cameron, C. E. (2024). Gamified Self-regulation Assessments in Early Childhood Education: Aiming for Equity and Feasibility. In Lindgren, R., Asino, T. I., Kyza, E. A., Looi, C. K., Keifert, D. T., & Suárez, E. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – ICLS 2024, 2423–2424. https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2024.362172

Striving for Equitable Assessment Opportunities: Preschool Teacher Feedback on a Gamified Self-regulation Task
Conference: American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2024
Abstract: Self-regulation skill development in early childhood lays the foundation for academic success during the school years by enabling children to engage and take advantage of learning opportunities. Early childhood educators must be prepared to target self-regulation skills, which involve controlling and planning adaptive actions within one’s environment, with each of their students using developmentally appropriate practices and tools. However, commonly used observational assessments that ask teachers to report on student behaviors may be affected by inaccurate perceptions. A new teacher-facilitated, largely child-led tablet-based assessment of self-regulation called HTKS-Kids assesses each individual child’s regulatory skills directly, without using a checklist. This study garnered early childhood educators’ feedback on HTKS-Kids feasibility and its potential to present new information concerning their children’s school readiness skills. Findings have implications for increasing equitable assessment opportunities for students with disabilities and English language learners, as well as students of color.
Citation: Didrichsen, S., Starke, K., Kwan, T., McClelland, M. M., & Cameron, C. E. (2024, April 13). Striving for Equitable Assessment Opportunities: Preschool Teacher Feedback on a Gamified Self-regulation Task. Paper Presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, PA. https://doi.org/10.3102/2110033