Moderated Mediation Model of the Effects of Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceived Social Support, Job Stress, and Teacher Efficacy on Burnout

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to understand the complicated interrelationships between early childhood teachers’ perceived social support, teacher efficacy, job stress, and burnout using a moderated mediation model. Although there have been many studies on the direct effects among these variables, few studies have examined the structural relationship between these four variables simultaneously. The goals of this study were as follows. First, we intended to understand whether decreasing social support leads to teacher burnout through job stress. This would confirm whether the hypotheses of resources conservations theory are applicable to early childhood teachers in South Korea. Secondly, we aimed to examine whether teacher efficacy as an individual factor has moderating effects on the relationships between other variables. Methods The participants were 118 childcare teachers and 66 kindergarten teachers living in the Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces. Results The relationship between early childhood teachers’ perceived social support and burnout was found to be completely mediated by job stress. Also, the relationship between job stress and burnout varied according to the level of teacher efficacy, but the relationship between social support and job stress did not change. Conclusion It is necessary to improve the organizational culture of childcare centers and kindergartens to enhance social support from colleagues, thereby alleviating teacher job stress and burnout. We also suggest that teacher training be tailored to meet individual needs in strengthening teacher efficacy. Keywords: early childhood teacher, social support, job stress, teacher efficacy, burnout