The association between maternal parenting perceived by early childhood teachers and burnout: the mediating effect of self-compassion and teacher efficacy

Abstract

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Given the increasing importance of early childhood teachers, this study aims to identify whether past maternal parenting is related to burnout through the double mediation of teacher self-compassion and teacher efficacy, using model comparison. To this end, a survey was conducted with 329 early childhood teachers in Korea. The positive maternal parenting perceived by teachers was negatively related to burnout through teachers’ self-compassion and efficacy. Positive maternal parenting reduced burnout by increasing self-compassion and consequently teacher efficacy. Teachers’ self-compassion was more closely related to burnout than teacher efficacy, which was treated as an important variable in relation to teachers. These results suggest that early childhood teachers’ self-compassion is a significant variable in relation to burnout and suggestions are provided for specific support programs to promote teacher self-compassion.

Keywords

• burnout
• early childhood teacher
• maternal parenting
• self-compassion
• teacher efficacy