Directors' stress in day care centers : related factors and coping strategies
Publiceringsår
2020
Upphovspersoner
Elomaa, Mailis; Pakarinen, Eija; Eskelä-Haapanen, Sirpa; Halttunen, Leena; Von Suchodoletz, Antje; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina
Abstrakt
Purpose This study aims to explore what causes stress to day care center directors and what their coping strategies are. In addition, the study examined the extent to which directors experience work-related stress and burnout, and the factors associated with their work-related stress, engagement and recovery from work. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method approach was used. Findings The results showed that the main sources of directors' stress were connected to leading oneself, leading others, managing change and lack of social support. Moreover, the main coping strategies with stress were leading oneself, social support and leading others. In addition, both pre- and in-service leadership training played a significant role in the experience of stress. The nature of factors causing stress and coping strategies with stress may imply that directors need further support in self-management and developing their internal competences. Research limitations/implications The present study has limitations that need to be considered when making generalizations. First, a small sample size limits the generalization of the findings. Second, the study relied solely on one source of information, i.e. directors' self-reports. Third, data were collected only at one time point at the end of the year when stress levels might have accumulated. Finally, the study has been done in the Finnish educational context where day care center directors' job description varies depending on municipality. Practical implications The findings provide important information about the causes of directors' work-related stress as well as their coping strategies and about factors that might be related to those. Social implications Because directors' stress impact on children’s development and well-being through teachers' well-being, it is crucial to pay attention on directors' well-being and provide more support for them. Originality/value The current study is among the few ones focusing on the stress of directors at early childhood education (ECE) settings.
Visa merOrganisationer och upphovspersoner
Jyväskylä universitet
Elomaa Mailis
Publikationstyp
Publikationsform
Artikel
Moderpublikationens typ
Tidning
Artikelstyp
En originalartikel
Målgrupp
VetenskapligKollegialt utvärderad
Kollegialt utvärderadUKM:s publikationstyp
A1 Originalartikel i en vetenskaplig tidskriftPublikationskanalens uppgifter
Förläggare
Volym
34
Nummer
6
Sidor
1079-1091
ISSN
Publikationsforum
Publikationsforumsnivå
1
Öppen tillgång
Öppen tillgänglighet i förläggarens tjänst
Nej
Parallellsparad
Ja
Övriga uppgifter
Vetenskapsområden
Psykologi; Pedagogik
Nyckelord
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Publiceringsland
Förenade kungariket
Förlagets internationalitet
Internationell
Språk
engelska
Internationell sampublikation
Ja
Sampublikation med ett företag
Nej
DOI
10.1108/IJEM-10-2019-0383
Publikationen ingår i undervisnings- och kulturministeriets datainsamling
Ja