Browsing by Author "Lehikoinen, Suvi"

The purpose of this study is to determine which factors support and impair the well-being of early childhood education teachers in private kindergartens. In addition, the aim is to find factors that influence the commitment of early childhood education teachers to their work. Previous research has shown that well-being at work in the early childhood education sector is perceived to be quite variable and is particularly affected by leadership, team functioning and the adequacy of resources. Previous research has shown that well-being at work is strongly linked to commitment to work. This study is qualitative and the material was collected by interviewing six early childhood education teachers who worked in private day care centers across Finland. The framework of the interview contained 14 questions and was developed on the basis of previous theoretical knowledge. The interviews were conducted in April 2020 via Zoom video calls. The length of the interviews ranged from 25 minutes to an hour and 10 minutes. Eventually, 47 pages of spelled material were collected. The material was analyzed using theory-based content analysis. The guiding theory in the analysis phase is previous research on the topic. Based on the interview material, the factors supporting well-being at work were a well-functioning management and team, their own opportunities to influence and the necessary resources. A functioning team, leadership, and collaboration with parents were seen as an important combination for well-being at work. Weak leadership, team inactivity, lack of resources and hurry were factors that weaken well-being at work. The interviewees also highlighted the difficulty of leaving work behind, which caused an unpleasant twist in well-being at work. Factors influencing work commitment included experiencing the relevance of work, a functioning work community, finding one's own strengths and relying on one's own professional skills. Commitment to work was negatively affected by the sector's poor career prospects, low valuation and salary. The effects of well-being at work on commitment to work can be clearly seen on the basis of the interview data. Those interviewees who felt they were doing well in their work were more committed to their work than those who felt their well-being at work was weaker.