ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the various consequences of stress and trauma for early childhood educators and introduces the concept of allostatic load. It explains the importance of preventing burnout, compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress. The book discusses research on the cultural neuroscience of stress and provides examples of culturally informed beliefs about healing. It focuses on several frameworks that expand our understanding of self-care and position it as a more equitable and inclusive concept and set of practices. The book deals with the need to see educators’ process of discovering culturally responsive self-care practices that are meaningful for them as a dynamic life-long journeys. It concludes with the introduction of a tool, the Health and Wellness Toolkit, that educators can use to create a self-care plan that is accessible to and meaningful for them.
