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Judit Fináncz & Melinda Csima: Conceptual Approach and Examination of Teachers' Professional Well-Being in Early Childhood Education The aim of our study was to explore the concept of professional well-being, and to develop indicators for the examination of the topic, with special regard to educators working in early childhood education. In the interpretation of our multicausal model, professional well-being can be captured through different dimensions, which are shaped by individual, organizational and social factors. Among the indicators described in the model, we focused on the variables related to institutional climate and burnout in our study, which was conducted among those working in early childhood education (n=1010), more precisely in nurseries and kindergartens in Hungary. Regarding the institutional climate dimensions that determine professional well-being, it can be said that efficiency, unified educational principles and good professional cooperation with partner institutions can be considered as strengths, but at the same time respondents perceive the social esteem of their profession rather low. With regard to the studied climate dimensions, we found that early childhood educators working in nursery schools rate the climate characteristics of their workplace as the most unfavorable, which is presumably due to their heterogeneous composition and the ongoing professionalization of the profession. With regard to mental health, although mild depression affects a significant proportion of respondents, burnout is not common among them. Based on the revealed correlations, depression and burnout are closely related to the workplace climate which draws attention to the need to improve the well-being of teachers on an institutional level. We believe that the concept presented in the study and the related results facilitate professional discourse related to this segment of educational science, and can provide a basis for research in these areas. MAGYAR PEDAGÓGIA 120. Number 3. 247-268. (2020) Levelezési cím / Address for correspondence: Fináncz Judit és Csima Melinda, Magyar Agrár-és Élettudományi Egyetem, Neveléstudományi Intézet. H–7400 Kaposvár, Guba Sándor u. 40. |
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