Empowered, Strained, or Stable : Teachers’ Experiences of Occupational Well-Being During the Two-Year Pre-Primary Education Trial in Finland

Abstract

Research Findings: This study investigated early childhood education andcare (ECEC) teachers’ experiences of occupational well-being during a two-year pre-primary education trial in Finland. Profile groups of the trial experi-mental group teachers (n = 376) were identified. We also examined whetherthe identified profiles differed with respect to different ECEC classroom andteacher professional characteristics. Through latent profile analysis, threeprofile groups of occupational well-being were identified among the ECECteachers: empowered (n = 34), strained (n = 138), and stable teachers (n = 200).In the majority of the pre-primary groups of empowered teachers, childrenrepresented the same age group, whereas the age distribution varied moreamong the pre-primary groups of strained and stable teachers. Empoweredteachers reported having more instructed activity sessions and distributingresponsibility more among the personnel teams. Strained teachers reportedhaving more individual responsibility for instructing group activities. Practiceor Policy: Attention to ECEC teachers’ occupational well-being should be paidin dynamic and changing circumstances of their work careers, such as theFinnish two-year pre-primary education trial. Nationally unitary and appro-priate classroom resources should be guaranteed to support ECEC teachers’well-being both in trials and in their everyday work.