어린이집 기관장의 리더십이 영아의 적응 및 부적응행동에 미치는 영향: 교사소진의 매개효과

초록

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of early childhood teachers’ burnout on the relationship between childcare center directors’ leadership and young children’s adjustment behaviors, and to explore ways to support young children’s positive adjustment to childcare settings. The study utilized data from the second year of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey on Early Childhood Education and Care. The participants were 309 early childhood teachers nationwide. Data on demographic characteristics, directors’ leadership, teachers’ burnout, and young children’s adjustment and maladjustment behaviors were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and the PROCESS Macro.The results were as follows. First, directors’ human-oriented leadership significantly reduced teachers’ burnout. This indicates that directors’ leadership based on respect, empathy, and emotional support for teachers can serve as a protective factor that alleviates teachers’ psychological burden. Second, teachers’ burnout significantly influenced both young children’s adjustment behaviors and maladjustment behaviors. Higher levels of teacher burnout were associated with lower levels of young children’s adjustment behaviors and higher levels of maladjustment behaviors. Third, teachers’ burnout significantly mediated the relationship between directors’ human-oriented leadership and young children’s adjustment. Fourth, teachers’ burnout also significantly mediated the relationship between directors’ bureaucratic-oriented leadership and young children’s adjustment. Specifically, bureaucratic-oriented leadership was associated with young children’s adjustment and maladjustment behaviors through the mediating pathway of teacher burnout.These findings demonstrate that directors’ leadership styles are closely related to teachers’ psychological states and that teacher burnout plays an important mediating role in the relationship between directors’ leadership and young children’s adjustment in childcare settings. Therefore, enhancing directors’ human-oriented leadership and establishing organizational environments that support teachers’ psychological well-being and job performance are necessary to promote young children’s stable adjustment to childcare institutions.

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