Early Childhood Educators in Singapore: Examining Associations Between Their Job Demands, Resources and Well-Being

• In Event: Global Perspectives on Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Well-Being and Working Conditions

Abstract

Like many countries worldwide, the early childhood (EC) sector in Singapore is grappling with workforce turnover and attrition issues (Authors, 2022b; Authors, 2024c) amidst continuous expansion of EC services. To meet the increasing demand for EC services, the 23,000-strong EC workforce will require 3,500 more educators by 2025 (Ministry of Social and Family Development [MSF], 2022a). Realising the importance of developing a highly skilled and engaged EC workforce for Singapore’s economic and social productivity, as well as for children’s positive and healthy life trajectories (Lim & Heng, 2024; Yang et al., 2022), the government has rolled out various strategies to improve the working conditions of EC educators. Examples include increasing the salaries of educators in government-supported preschools, providing funding for preschools in their digital transformation efforts to improve productivity, and removing the requirement for preschools to operate on Saturdays (MSF, 2022b). However, media reports indicate that while educators welcomed these new initiatives, they stressed the need to focus on improving staff welfare and work-life balance (Ang, 2022). These reactions suggest that there may be a gap in our understanding of the concerns and needs of EC educators in the local context.

Guided by the conceptual framework for holistic educator well-being (Authors, under review) and the Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007), this study examines the state of EC educators’ well-being in Singapore and the associations between their job demands, job resources, and well-being. We focus our investigation on educators’ physical well-being (perceptions of general health) and professional well-being (job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion), as well as their feelings about their centre and their work (job resources) and work-related stressors (job demands). A total of 309 EC educators working in formal EC education settings (full-day childcare centres and half-day kindergartens) completed a survey of the study variables. As shown in Table 1, the sample comprised mainly female educators (98.4%) aged between 21 to 35 years old (70.1%) and taught different age groups ranging from 3- to 6-year-olds.

Table 2 presents the results of our regression analyses for each aspect of well-being (general health, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction). Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictive influence of educators’ job resources and demands on well-being, after accounting for the influence of educators’ personal and financial resources (i.e., household income, number of dependents, years of working experience in the EC sector). Findings demonstrate that different aspects of educators’ job resources and demands predicted their physical and professional well-being. Work-related stressors (e.g., There is little time to prepare for my program and/or responsibilities) significantly predicted all three aspects of well-being. Educators’ feelings about their work significantly predicted their job satisfaction. This finding indicates that educators who reported more positive feelings about their work (e.g., The work I do is stimulating and challenging) experienced higher levels of job satisfaction. In addition, educators with more positive feelings about their centre (e.g., I take pride in my centre) reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher levels of job satisfaction.

Authors

• EeLynn Ng, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Rebecca Kam Chee Chan, NTUC First Campus