Risk for occupational stress among U.S. kindergarten teachers

Current situation and influencing factors of each turnover of kindergarten teachers - a questionnaire survey

Objective

Frequent teacher turnover may damage the development of teachers and the regular operation of kindergartens. This original research presented kindergarten teachers' first, second, and third turnover rates and occurrence times. This research analyzed the relationship between socio-demographic variables and the varying frequency of kindergarten teacher turnover. These data were used to investigate the characteristics of first, second, and third kindergarten turnover. This research evaluated kindergarten teachers' occupational ambition, emotional attachment, and self-efficacy. Likewise, this research also analyzed the social context, organizational support, management mechanism, reward, and occupational stress of kindergarten. These data were used to determine the key factors affecting kindergarten teachers' turnover.

Methods

This research recruited 1,118 kindergarten teachers (mean age = 31.67, sd = 5.02; 3.85% male, 96.14% female) from China. Based on the existing scales, this research developed the Questionnaire of Kindergarten Teachers' Turnover and Influencing Factors for the survey. Kindergarten teachers reported basic information and the impact factors of their first, second, and third turnover through online questionnaires. The Chi-square test was used to analyze the correlation between socio-demographic variables and different frequencies of kindergarten teacher turnover. The binary logistic regression explored the eight factors affecting kindergarten teachers' first, second, and third turnover.

Results

The results showed that 43.65% of kindergarten teachers had resigned. In detail, 25.60% of kindergarten teachers resigned once, 10.64% of kindergarten teachers resigned twice, and 8.41% of kindergarten teachers resigned thrice. Gender and marital status were significantly correlated with the three frequencies of kindergarten teacher turnover. Occupational stress, reward, management mechanisms, and ambition consistently affected kindergarten teachers' first, second, and third turnover.

Conclusion

The relevant management departments should pay attention to the high turnover rate of kindergarten teachers and put forward more strategies to improve their stability. Women and married can be favored in the recruitment of kindergarten teachers. It is crucial to reduce pressure and improve rewards for kindergarten teachers. Also, kindergartens should provide the space to display teachers' talents and improve management mechanisms. These results provide empirical support for proposing effective policies to promote the stability of kindergarten teachers' construction.

The Effect of Trait Mindfulness on Subjective Well-Being of Kindergarten Teachers: The Sequential Mediating Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Work-Family Balance

Purpose

Teaching is a tough and stressful profession. Teachers' pressure and job burnout have become a common and serious problem, which makes teachers' subjective well-being feel a serious impact. The kindergarten environment is challenging and unique. The educational objects faced by kindergarten teachers are usually immature, which brings challenges to the teaching of kindergarten teachers. At the same time, in China, kindergarten teachers also need to undertake daily administrative management and other tasks. Therefore, focusing on the subjective well-being of kindergarten teachers in developing countries during the stage of the COVID-19 pandemic has important implications for promoting teacher well-being globally.

Patients and Methods

The study included 321 kindergarten teachers from 13 kindergartens in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. A cross-sectional study design was used with a cluster random sampling technique. For the present study, Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Work-Family Balance Scale and Subjective Well-being Scale were utilized.

Results

Findings of the study show that trait mindfulness can directly predict subjective well-being. Emotional intelligence played a mediating role in the relationship between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being. Work-family balance played a mediating role between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being. Emotional intelligence and work-family balance play a sequential mediating effect between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being.

Conclusion

This study explores the influence mechanism of trait mindfulness on kindergarten teachers' subjective well-being from the perspective of metacognition. An important conclusion of this study is that emotional intelligence and work-family balance play a sequential mediating effect between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being. We believe the findings of this study have important implications for enriching existing theory and educational practice. This finding has important implications for improving the subjective well-being of kindergarten teachers in developing countries, especially in the context of the current severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education systems.

Social Support and Job Satisfaction in Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Coping Styles

This study explored the relationship between social support and job satisfaction in kindergarten teachers, and the mediating role of coping styles in this relationship. A sample of 617 kindergarten teachers (M_age = 25.13 years, SD = 5.66 years) from kindergartens in mainland China completed questionnaires measuring social support, job satisfaction, and coping style. The results showed that social support was positively related to job satisfaction and positive coping style was positively associated with social support and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results revealed that positive coping style, but not negative coping style, had a mediating effect on the relationship between kindergarten teachers’ social support and job satisfaction. This study provides initial evidence that coping style mediates the link between social support and job satisfaction in kindergarten teachers, and suggests that increasing social support and encouraging positive coping style could improve kindergarten teachers’ job satisfaction.

Stress and Burnout in Teachers During Times of Pandemic

In Argentina, once mandatory isolation was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers of all educational levels and modalities had to substantially modify their way of working. The aim of this study was to identify the work situations that education professionals perceived as threats under the modality of non-face-to-face teaching, and to describe the level of perceived stress and its possible effect on psychophysical symptoms. Likewise, it sought to examine possible differences in the manifestations of burnout depending on the level of perceived stress and associated symptoms. An empirical study with a cross-sectional design was developed, in which 9,058 Argentine teachers, who had to complete self-report measures, participated. The sampling method was non-random, using an online procedure of reclusion of volunteers. Descriptive techniques and non-parametric tests were used for data analysis. More than 60% of the educators reported high and moderately high levels of stress. The predominant stressors were uncertainty about the consequences of the pandemic, work overload and inadequate working environment. The more stress they perceived, the higher the manifestation of unwanted psychophysical symptoms. Professional burnout was higher for teachers with a higher load of stress and with more psychophysical indicators of discomfort. These results reveal the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education staff, and encourage the development of intervention measures to preserve the health of professionals.

Educators' self-esteem: the effect of perceived occupational stress and the role of organizational support

Purpose

This research investigates the mediation effect of perceived organizational support on the relationship between organization-based self-esteem and perceived occupational stress of teachers.

Design/methodology/approach

The present quantitative venture follows a causal research design to unveil the relationship among organization based self-esteem (independent variable), perceived occupational stress (dependent variable) and perceived organizational support (intervening variable). The research surveys 813 educators from nineteen selected distinct areas of Dhaka city; the survey instrument has twenty-six items apart from some general inquires about the respondents. To address the dynamic interplay among these variables, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is conducted within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework.

Findings

Teachers with low self-esteem perceived a high level of occupational stress, whereas teachers who perceived high organizational support feel low occupational stress. Increasing organizational support not only increases organization-based self-esteem but also mediates the relationship between self-esteem and occupational stress.

Practical implications

Teachers' stress is not only an increasing problem over the years but also it was one of the top six most stressful professions. The present study outlines the possible organizational initiatives that can reduce the stresses of the teaching profession.

Originality/value

The findings of the present study square with several theoretical frameworks such as the job demands–resources (JD–R) model and conservation of resources (COR) theory. The results highlight the fact that allowing school teachers to express their ideas and points of view makes them feel esteemed. Likewise, good relations with the school head and getting positive feedback are found to be contributing factors. The teachers feel lesson planning overburdensome and undue office inspections hurt their self-esteem. Any school can increase the self-esteem of the teachers by providing support and training to adjust to changes.

Mindfulness and Psychological Distress in Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Kindergarten teachers are often exposed to great stress. Considering that, mindfulness has been demonstrated to act as a critical role in the psychological well-being of kindergarten teachers. The present study assessed mindfulness in teaching (MT), psychological distress and emotional intelligence (EI) among 511 kindergarten teachers in mainland China and investigated the mediating role of EI to explore the association mechanism between kindergarten teachers’ MT and psychological distress. The major results suggested that kindergarten teachers’ MT was negatively related to their psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). Results of path analyses indicated that the total score of EI and dimension of regulation of emotion (ROE) could serve as significant mediators. The findings suggest that mindfulness might be beneficial to relieve kindergarten teachers’ psychological distress through the mediating role of EI.

"Consulted to death": Personal stress as a major barrier to environmental co-management

Co-management is widely seen as a way of improving environmental governance and empowering communities. When successful, co-management enhances the validity and legitimacy of decision-making, while providing stakeholders with influence over processes and outcomes that directly impact them. However, our research with participants in co-management across several cases leads us to argue that many of the individuals who contribute to co-management are subject to significant personal stress arising from both the logistical and social/emotional demands of participation in these processes. We argue that the literature on co-management has touched on this only indirectly, and that personal stress is a major challenge for participants that ought to be integrated into research agendas and addressed by policy-makers. In this article, we review the contours of the personal stress issue as it has appeared in our observations of co-management events and interviews with participants. While these findings are partial and preliminary, we argue that personal stress has theoretical and practical significance to the broader literature and process design. We conclude the article with recommendations for participants, researchers and policy-makers about how to consider and respond to problems of personal stress.

Exposure to Mental Load and Psychosocial Risks in Kindergarten Teachers

Introduction

Published research studies in Central Europe have been mostly oriented toward occupational stress among schoolteachers. The aim of this study is to investigate the level of occupational stress in kindergarten teachers and to specify psychosocial risks associated with their work.

Methods

The study was conducted by using a Meister questionnaire and a Psychosocial risk questionnaire. The data collection was obtained from kindergarten teachers in 2017. The survey link with request was sent to participants via email. A total 287 questionnaires from 67 kindergarten schools were collected.

Results

192 (66.9%) teachers perceived their work as mentally burdensome. Teachers who perceived their work as mentally non-burdening were more likely to report autonomy in their work (p=0.001), fair performance evaluation (p=0.010), sufficient family time (p=0.005), a health-protected workplace (p=0.000) and absence of violence and bullying (p=0.042). Teachers with a university degree perceiving work as mentally burdensome reported that their work was not adequately assessed (p=0.034). Teachers over 45 years of age with school practice of over 20 years reported injustice in evaluating work performance against younger colleagues (p=0.000).

Conclusion

Kindergarten teachers reported overloading, time pressure, and high responsibility, but considered their work interesting. However, changing the way teachers work in schools can reduce teacher resignation and improve teachers’ well-being.