Browsing by Subject "barnets bästa"

The aim of this study is to find out whether ECEC staff face ethical dilemmas and moral stress in their work and in what kind of situations ethical dilemmas and moral stress arise. In this work, ethical dilemmas refer to situations where a person does not know how they should act or situations where they know how they should act but due to various obstacles the action can’t be carried out. Moral stress, on the other hand, refers to the psychological reaction to the situation. Previous studies indicate that ethical dilemmas are stressors that increase the risk of burnout. Individuals who experience ethical dilemmas frequently have also more turnover intentions. This study seeks to create a deeper understanding of ethical dilemmas in order to better support the well-being of early childhood educators in their work. This study is a qualitative study where interviews were used as a data collection method. A total of nine teachers and practical nurses in ECEC who work with children aged 1–5 years served as informants in the study. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a phenomenographic analysis. The results showed that ECEC staff experience ethical dilemmas and moral stress in their work but to varying degrees. The reasons behind ethical dilemmas were several but it was noticeable that the amount of moral stress varied from person to person. The informants also mentioned several different methods for dealing with ethical dilemmas. The ways mentioned varied depending on the dilemma in question. In order to better support the staff and prevent the occurrence of ethical dilemmas, the informants wished for more staff in the field, open communication and support within the work community or from an external organisation. More research is needed to create a better understanding of the factors that reduce moral stress and to identify whether structural changes in the workplace would be required to increase well-being in the sector.