IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i13p4869-d380985.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Interplay of Compassion, Subjective Happiness and Proactive Strategies on Kindergarten Teachers’ Work Engagement and Perceived Working Environment Fit

Author

Listed:
  • Simona De Stasio

    (Department of Human Studies, LUMSA University, 00193 Rome, Italy)

  • Paula Benevene

    (Department of Human Studies, LUMSA University, 00193 Rome, Italy)

  • Alessandro Pepe

    (Department of Human Sciences “Riccardo Massa”, Bicocca University, 20126 Milan, Italy)

  • Ilaria Buonomo

    (Department of Human Studies, LUMSA University, 00193 Rome, Italy)

  • Benedetta Ragni

    (Department of Human Studies, LUMSA University, 00193 Rome, Italy)

  • Carmen Berenguer

    (Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

Background: The current cross-sectional study examines a model that was designed to advance understanding of the interplay between compassion towards teachers expressed by teaching colleagues, subjective happiness, proactive strategies and kindergarten teachers’ levels of work engagement, and perceived working environment fit. Methods: The research was conducted with a sample of 319 full-time in-service kindergarten teachers at Italian public preschools—a context in which a few previous studies have been carried out. Self-report questionnaires were administered: The Subjective Happiness Scale, the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Proactive Strategy Scale, and the Teacher-working environment fit scale. Data were analyzed by using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. Results: Results show that compassion and subjective happiness have a direct positive total effect on work engagement, whereas the effects of compassion and subjective happiness on experienced working environment fit suggest that the association among constructs is mediated by the role of proactive strategies. Conclusions: Based on these findings, we strongly advocate that educational policy makers and head teachers’ pay close attention to the areas of personal and collective resources and work-related well-being, with a view to effectively address the promotion of early childhood teachers’ work engagement and working environment fit.

Suggested Citation

  • Simona De Stasio & Paula Benevene & Alessandro Pepe & Ilaria Buonomo & Benedetta Ragni & Carmen Berenguer, 2020. "The Interplay of Compassion, Subjective Happiness and Proactive Strategies on Kindergarten Teachers’ Work Engagement and Perceived Working Environment Fit," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4869-:d:380985
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4869/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4869/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sonja Lyubomirsky & Heidi Lepper, 1999. "A Measure of Subjective Happiness: Preliminary Reliability and Construct Validation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 137-155, February.
    2. Alfredo Rodríguez-Muñoz & Ana Sanz-Vergel & Evangelia Demerouti & Arnold Bakker, 2014. "Engaged at Work and Happy at Home: A Spillover–Crossover Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 271-283, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ilaria Buonomo & Paolo Emilio Santoro & Paula Benevene & Ivan Borrelli & Giacomo Angelini & Caterina Fiorilli & Maria Rosaria Gualano & Umberto Moscato, 2022. "Buffering the Effects of Burnout on Healthcare Professionals’ Health—The Mediating Role of Compassionate Relationships at Work in the COVID Era," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Martina Pansini & Ilaria Buonomo & Paula Benevene, 2024. "Fostering Sustainable Workplace Through Leaders’ Compassionate Behaviors: Understanding the Role of Employee Well-Being and Work Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Ilaria Buonomo & Martina Pansini & Sara Cervai & Paula Benevene, 2022. "Compassionate Work Environments and Their Role in Teachers’ Life Satisfaction: The Contribution of Perceived Collective School Performance and Burnout," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, October.
    4. José Salvador Blasco-Magraner & Gloria Bernabe-Valero & Pablo Marín-Liébana & Carmen Moret-Tatay, 2021. "Effects of the Educational Use of Music on 3- to 12-Year-Old Children’s Emotional Development: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-29, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Torshizian, Eilya & Mehrara, Mohsen, 2011. "The effects of Economy, Values and Health on Happiness In Iran: the case of the Kish Island," MPRA Paper 30085, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Apr 2011.
    2. Rogie Royce Carandang & Akira Shibanuma & Edward Asis & Dominga Carolina Chavez & Maria Teresa Tuliao & Masamine Jimba, 2020. "“Are Filipinos Aging Well?”: Determinants of Subjective Well-Being among Senior Citizens of the Community-Based ENGAGE Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-13, October.
    3. Joey Man Yee KWOK & Douglas Kei Shing NG, 2016. "A Study of the Perceived Stress Level of University Students in Hong Kong," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(4), pages 1-91, December.
    4. Lange, Florian & Dewitte, Siegfried, 2020. "Positive affect and pro-environmental behavior: A preregistered experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Pavithra Sampath & Rupashree Baral, 2017. "Crossover of Work–Family Experiences from Supervisors to Subordinates: A Position Paper," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 6(2), pages 148-158, July.
    6. Mostafa E. Shahen & Shibly Shahrier & Koji Kotani, 2019. "Happiness, Generativity and Social Preferences in a Developing Country: A Possibility of Future Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, September.
    7. Paola Manfredi, 2022. "Is This All COVID-19′s Fault? A Study on Trainees in One of the Most Affected Italian Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Zorana Ivcevic & Catherine Eggers, 2021. "Emotion Regulation Ability: Test Performance and Observer Reports in Predicting Relationship, Achievement and Well-Being Outcomes in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Supa Pengpid & Karl Peltzer, 2019. "Sedentary Behaviour, Physical Activity and Life Satisfaction, Happiness and Perceived Health Status in University Students from 24 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-7, June.
    10. Ad Bergsma & Monika Ardelt, 2012. "Self-Reported Wisdom and Happiness: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 481-499, June.
    11. Edward C. Chang & Shangwen Yi & Jiting Liu & Shanmukh V. Kamble & Yujia Zhang & Bowen Shi & Yangming Ye & Yuan Fang & Kailin Cheng & Jianjie Xu & Jingyi Shen & Mingqi Li & Olivia D. Chang, 2020. "Coping Behaviors as Predictors of Hedonic Well-Being in Asian Indians: Does Being Optimistic Still Make a Difference?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 289-304, January.
    12. A. Feliu-Soler & E. Royuela-Colomer & J. Navarrete & N. N. Jørgensen & M. Mariño & M. Demarzo & J. Soler & J. García-Campayo & J. Montero-Marín & J. V. Luciano, 2024. "Assessing the Impact of the Way of Saint James on Psychological Distress and Subjective Well-being: The Ultreya Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 1-30, October.
    13. Karola Bastini & Rudolf Kerschreiter & Maik Lachmann & Matthias Ziegler & Tim Sawert, 2024. "Encouraging Individual Contributions to Net-Zero Organizations: Effects of Behavioral Policy Interventions and Social Norms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(3), pages 543-560, July.
    14. Mehdi Rezaei & Doohwan Kim & Ahad Alizadeh & Ladan Rokni, 2021. "Evaluating the Mental-Health Positive Impacts of Agritourism; A Case Study from South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    15. Hilke Brockmann, 2012. "Das Glück der Migranten: eine Lebenslaufanalyse zum subjektiven Wohlbefinden von Migranten der ersten Generation in Deutschland," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 504, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    16. Hoang Viet Nguyen & Wilson Dang & Hoang Nguyen & Thi Nguyen Hong Nguyen & Thi My Nguyet Nguyen & Tuan Duong Vu & Ninh Nguyen, 2021. "How Does Environmental Interpretation Affect Psychological Well-Being? A Study Conducted in the Context of COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    17. Yushan Wu & Rita Yi Man Li & Sher Akbar & Qinghua Fu & Sarminah Samad & Ubaldo Comite, 2022. "The Effectiveness of Humble Leadership to Mitigate Employee Burnout in the Healthcare Sector: A Structural Equation Model Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Mark Holder & Ben Coleman & Kamlesh Singh, 2012. "Temperament and Happiness in Children in India," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 261-274, April.
    19. Hirsch, Thalia & Busse, Britta, 2020. "The importance of subjective measurements in child and youth well-being studies," Schriftenreihe Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft 29/2020, Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft (IAW), Universität Bremen und Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen.
    20. Antonio Crego & José Ramón Yela & Rita Ozores-Pérez & Pablo Riesco-Matías & María Ángeles Gómez-Martínez, 2022. "Eudaimonic and Uncertainty Metaphors About Life are Associated with Meaningfulness, Experiential Avoidance, Mental Health and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 4119-4146, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4869-:d:380985. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.