174 - JOB SATISFACTION IN PRESCHOOL TEACHER: IMPLICATIONS OF PERSONAL AND CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

Session: P_D01S001 - Poster Session 1 - Division 1
AUTHORS:
Scarzello Donatella (Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin ~ Turin ~ Italy) , Prino Laura Elvira (Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin ~ Turin ~ Italy)
Abstract text:
Introduction
Job satisfaction of professionals working with children aged 0-6 years is an important protective factor with regard to the risk of burnout. On the one hand, it is an indicator of the physical and mental health of adults; on the other hand, it also influences the quality of pre-school educational settings and promotes children's well-being.
Purpose
The study analyzes the role that some personal (socio-anagraphic variables, alexithymia, resilience and emotional self-efficacy) and contextual (satisfaction with the relational climate in the work context) factors have on the level of job satisfaction of a sample of daycare educators and preschool teachers.
Method
The study involved 130 teachers, almost all of whom were women (98.5 percent). The age of the sample ranges from 20 to 61 years (mean=39.21; s.d.= 11.52) and the years of service range from 0 to 37 years (mean=14.51; s.d.= 11.27).
The following instruments were used: social biographical information collection form; Quality of Institution/School Climate Assessment Scale (created ad hoc); Job Satisfaction Scale; Toronto Alexithymia Scale; The Resilience Scale.
Results
The correlation analysis shows that job satisfaction is negatively associated with both age (r=-.255; p<.005) and years of service (r=-.256; p<.005), while there are no differences based on the level of education or the age group with which the professionals work. Hierarchical regression analysis shows that job satisfaction is positively predicted by the quality of the service's relational climate (β=-.429; p<.001) and negatively predicted by alexithymia, especially externally oriented thinking (β=-.279; p=.001) and difficulty in identifying feelings (β=-.209; p<.05). In contrast, the emotional self-efficacy and resilience of professionals did not play a significant role.
Conclusions
The results suggest the importance of considering both personal factors, such as alexithymia, and contextual factors, such as the quality of relationships in the work context, in order to promote job satisfaction among professionals.