The Effect of Trait Mindfulness on Subjective Well-Being of Kindergarten Teachers: The Sequential Mediating Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Work–Family Balance

Abstract

Purpose

Teaching is a tough and stressful profession. Teachers’ pressure and job burnout have become a common and serious problem, which makes teachers’ subjective well-being feel a serious impact. The kindergarten environment is challenging and unique. The educational objects faced by kindergarten teachers are usually immature, which brings challenges to the teaching of kindergarten teachers. At the same time, in China, kindergarten teachers also need to undertake daily administrative management and other tasks. Therefore, focusing on the subjective well-being of kindergarten teachers in developing countries during the stage of the COVID-19 pandemic has important implications for promoting teacher well-being globally.

Patients and Methods

The study included 321 kindergarten teachers from 13 kindergartens in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. A cross-sectional study design was used with a cluster random sampling technique. For the present study, Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Work–Family Balance Scale and Subjective Well-being Scale were utilized.

Results

Findings of the study show that trait mindfulness can directly predict subjective well-being. Emotional intelligence played a mediating role in the relationship between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being. Work–family balance played a mediating role between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being. Emotional intelligence and work–family balance play a sequential mediating effect between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being.

Conclusion

This study explores the influence mechanism of trait mindfulness on kindergarten teachers’ subjective well-being from the perspective of metacognition. An important conclusion of this study is that emotional intelligence and work–family balance play a sequential mediating effect between trait mindfulness and subjective well-being. We believe the findings of this study have important implications for enriching existing theory and educational practice. This finding has important implications for improving the subjective well-being of kindergarten teachers in developing countries, especially in the context of the current severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education systems.

Keywords:

• trait mindfulness
• emotional intelligence
• work–family balance
• subjective well-being
• kindergarten teacher

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Shandong province education and teaching special project in 2022 “Research on the 415 educational value and development of folk games along the Yellow River” (Project number: 2022HHZX049); Shandong province preschool education research project “Practical research on the collaboration between families and kindergartens to promote science linkage between kindergartens and primary schools;” The high-level talent introduction scientific research project of Shandong Women’s University (Project number: 2018RC28080). This project supported by the Graduate Scientific Research Foundation of Wenzhou University.