ECE burnout: Early childhood intervention practitioners' sense of hope, life satisfaction, and meaning in life

Kaili C. Zhang
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

While researchers have devoted significant attention to the well-being of teaching professionals, there remains a notable gap in our understanding of early childhood intervention practitioners. For example, little is known about the factors maintaining professionals' commitment and effectiveness throughout their careers, including the role of well-being in their work. To begin to address these issues, this study was conducted to develop a deep understanding of the New Zealand early childhood intervention practitioners' perceptions of their subjective well-being. This paper presents analysed survey and interview data from a sample of 96 early intervention practitioners in New Zealand. Participants reported relatively high levels of sense of hope and life meaning, but relatively low level of life satisfaction. The findings indicated that maintaining hope and meaning significantly contributed to participants' overall well-being. Furthermore, many indicated that their lives were meaningful and that supporting young children with disabilities gave them a sense of purpose. The results revealed important insights into the current state of early childhood intervention practitioners' subjective well-being and provide implications for professional development programs as well as recommendations for future research.
[ PDF full text for this article ]

Author: Dr Kaili C. Zhang's research includes inclusive curriculum, child development, and well-being. Early in her career, she trained educators in gifted education and autism interventions. Her recent work focuses on equity and transformation in teaching, with projects exploring life goals, values, meaning, purpose, and wellbeing in university students and educators. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2122-5527 Email: kaili.zhang@glasgow.ac.uk Please cite as: Zhang, K. C. (2025). ECE burnout: Early childhood intervention practitioners' sense of hope, life satisfaction, and meaning in life. Issues in Educational Research, 35(1), 442-460. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/zhang.pdf