A Longitudinal Study on Emotional Burnout Among Novice Early Childhood Education Teachers: Change from Entry to 24 months

In early childhood education, the emotional well-being of teachers plays a crucial role in fostering the development of children. Emotional burnout, a significant indicator of teachers’ mental health, affect both their teaching effectiveness and the interaction with children. Consequently, a comprehensive longitudinal examination of the emotional burnout among novice early childhood education (ECE) teachers is important for enhancing ECE quality and promoting the professional and mental well-being of educators. The purpose of this study was to examine the trajectory of emotional burnout among novice ECE teachers over a period of 24 months. We employed Growth Mixed Model (GMM) to measured emotional burnout trends of 2,455 novice ECE teachers over a 24-month period after they just entry into the profession. The emotional burnout contains three domains: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishments (PA). The study also examined the impact of education background, rural or urban preschool, gender, and have internship or not, on novice ECE teachers’ emotional burnout. The findings contribute to the existing theoretical framework on emotional burnout and provide effective intervention strategies to reduce the incidence of emotional burnout, enhancing the overall quality of ECE.