The effectiveness of a positive psychological intervention for promoting preschool teachers' well‐being and professional competence: EASP intervention program

Abstract

AbstractThe present study investigated the effectiveness of the Early Advancement in Social–Emotional Health and Positivity (EASP) program, a positive psychological intervention promoting preschool teachers' well‐being and the motivational aspect of professional competence. Participants were 273 in‐service preschool teachers (Mage = 34.56 years, SD = 9.52, range = 22–58; female = 98.90%) who participated in a 2‐month randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 143) receiving 1) four online workshops, 2) a smartphone app, and 3) an online activity, or to the wait‐list control group (n = 130), which received the intervention materials after all the data collection. Participants reported their well‐being dimensions, teaching self‐efficacy, and autonomous motivation for teaching before and after the intervention. Results from a path analytic model exhibited excellent fit with the data, χ2 = 37.62, df = 33, CFI = .99, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .02 [90% CI = 0.00, 0.05], SRMR = .02. The intervention had direct effects on changes in well‐being dimensions, including positivity, outcome, strength, engagement, and resilience (β = .14 to .26, ps = .00 to .04), and indirect intervention effects on changes in teaching self‐efficacy and autonomous motivation for teaching (β = .14 to .15, ps = .00 to .01). These findings highlighted the potential value of implementing positive psychological interventions in educational settings to promote the well‐being and professional competence among preschool teachers.