Work

Career success of preschool teachers in Germany – the significance of the Big Five personality traits, locus of control, and occupational self-efficacy

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: The career success of preschool teachers has been discussed to be important because it can be a precondition for the ability to provide a high-quality preschool education. Consequently, the identification of factors that can help explain individual differences in career success is a crucial research issue. Previous research covering various occupations indicates that the Big Five, internal locus of control (LOC), and occupational self-efficacy are good predictors of objective and subjective career success. However, there is a research gap on this topic in preschool teachers. This study examined whether the Big Five, LOC, and occupational self-efficacy could predict the career success of 560 preschool teachers in Germany. After controlling for other predictors, internal LOC corresponded with higher objective career success, but neuroticism and conscientiousness corresponded with lower subjective career success. Occupational self-efficacy corresponded with higher subjective career success. The findings are discussed with respect to practical conclusions.

Source: Early Child Development and Care

DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2017.1314275

Authors: Wilfried Smidt, Gisela Kammermeyer, Susanna Roux, Christiane Theisen, Christian Weber

Institutions: Universität Innsbruck, University of Koblenz and Landau, Universität Koblenz, University of Education Weingarten, Philipps University of Marburg

Language: English

Topic: Teacher Professional Development and Motivation

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Ministry of Education, Libya