Working in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is highly responsible and challenging. The ability of early childhood educators to cope with their work is a global concern (McDonald et al., 2018). Similarly, ECE centre leaders face stressful and demanding roles. Stressors such as poor pay and limited resources are common, and educators' coping problems and stress are welldocumented (Kwon et al., 2020; Grant et al., 2019; Hughes, 2012). Factors contributing to the workload of ECE centre leaders include excessive responsibilities, lack of time, multiple areas of accountability, and frequent changes in leadership and management practices (Elomaa et al., 2020). This impacts their well-being, the well-being of employees (Skakon et al., 2010), and the development of children (Jorde Bloom & Abel, 2015).
This seminar aims to provide insights into recent research on educators’ and leaders’ well-being in Finland. The presentation discuss preliminary findings from the broader VOA-project (Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Wellbeing: Organisational factors and staffturnover) and use these findings to consider future research directions. Key questions include identifying factors in ECEC work environments and organisational cultures that contribute to educators’ well-being.
Dr Mari Saha is an associate professor of early childhood education and the co-director of Research Center for Education, Assessment and Learning at the Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University. Her main research interests include early childhood educators’ and center leaders’ workrelated wellbeing, stress regulation, diverse needs and interprofessional collaboration in early years.
從事幼兒教育與保育（ECEC）工作具有高度責任性與挑戰性。幼兒教育工作者的職業應對能力已成為全球性議題（McDonald等學者，2018）。同樣地，幼教機構管理者亦面臨高壓與高要求的職責。薪資微薄、資源匱乏等壓力源普遍存在，教育工作者面臨的應對困境與壓力已獲充分實證（Kwon等學者，2020；Grant等學者，2019；Hughes，2012）。影響幼教機構主管工作負荷的因素包括：過度職責、時間不足、多重問責領域，以及領導管理實務的頻繁更迭（Elomaa等學者，2020）。此現象不僅影響其自身福祉，更牽動員工福祉（Skakon等學者，2010）與兒童發展（Jorde Bloom & Abel，2015）。
本研討會旨在探討芬蘭關於教育工作者與管理層福祉的最新研究成果。演講呈現「VOA計畫——幼教人員福祉：組織因素與人員流動」的初步發現，並據此探討未來研究方向。核心議題包括：辨識幼教工作環境與組織文化中影響教育者福祉的關鍵因素。
Mari Saha博士現任坦佩雷大學教育與文化學院副教授兼教育評估與學習研究中心共同主任。其主要研究領域涵蓋：幼教工作者與機構主管的職業福祉、壓力調適、多元需求，以及早期教育中的跨專業協作。