Model of the Preschool Teachers’ Professional Well-Being

Abstract

Introduction. Managing the lifelong learning environment requires a certain understanding of the educational needs and demands of learners of different categories. However, there is not The professional well-being of preschool teachers is sufficiently understudied, and operational models of professional well-being have not yet been built. The aim of the study is to develop a model of professional well-being of preschool teachers and to assess the quality of this model through empirical testing. Materials and Methods. The study involved 818 teachers aged 19‒74 with work experience ranging from 3 months to 50 years. The data was collected with the Russian version of PERMA-Profiler (O. M. Isaeva, A. Yu. Akimova, E. N. Volkova, 2022), Questionnaire of Basic Needs in Work (E. N. Osin, D. D. Suchkov, T. O. Gordeeva, T. Yu. Ivanova, 2015), Questionnaire of Professional Motivation (E. N. Osin, et al., 2017), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (D. A. Kutuzova, 2006), a short version of the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (A. A. Pankratova, D. S. Kornienko, D. V. Lyusin, 2022), and a short version of the Big Five (M. S. Egorova, O. V. Parshikova, 2016). The empirical data were collected online. Results. The three-component composition of the model of preschool teachers’ professional well-being was identified with structural equation modeling. The model includes general well-being, activity and personal components. High professional well-being is associated with high level of basic PERMA characteristics, subjective feeling of good health; satisfaction of basic needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness; autonomous types of motivation; job satisfaction; the energy and efficiency of the teacher; high agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to new experiences, extraversion and low neuroticism. The characteristics of a teacherʼs emotional intelligence were not included in the model. Discussion and Conclusion. The presented study contributes to the understanding of the structure and components of professional well-being of preschool teachers. The model of professional well-being can be used by the management of preschool educational institutions to develop and implement individual professional development programs, as well as to address issues of teacher retention in the organization.