Source avec lien : Early Childhood Education Journal, En ligne. 10.1007/s10643-022-01438-8
Les éducateurs de la petite enfance (EPE) sont confrontés à plusieurs défis sur leur lieu de travail, notamment le comportement difficile des jeunes enfants et leurs besoins en matière de santé mentale, le stress sur le lieu de travail, le manque de soutien systémique et des niveaux élevés d’épuisement professionnel. L’éducation et la confiance perçue sont souvent citées comme d’importants facteurs de protection, mais ni l’une ni l’autre ne font l’objet d’une étude approfondie dans la littérature existante. La présente étude visait à mieux comprendre et décrire ces facteurs.
Early childhood educators (ECEs) face several workplace challenges, including young children’s difficult behavior and mental health needs, workplace stress, low systemic support, and high levels of burnout. Both education and perceived confidence are often cited as important buffering factors, yet neither is well studied in the existing literature. The present study aimed to better understand and describe these factors. A survey, including both open and closed questions, was sent out to a large group of ECEs. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, T-tests, and the constant comparison method of qualitative coding. Findings suggest that the types of training ECEs have had is related to their comfort in recognizing and responding to young children’s mental health and challenging behaviors. Both systemic changes and didactic needs were cited as necessary to further support ECEs.