Teachers’ Well-Being, Classroom Chaos, and Children’s Internalizing Problems: Longitudinal Evidence From Hong Kong

This longitudinal study examined the impact of teachers’ well-being (perceived stress and general self-efficacy) and classroom chaos on children’s internalizing problems in ECE settings in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal cohort design, the study followed 1,038 children (Mage at K1 = 3.57 years, SD = 0.33; 50.9% boys, 49.1% girls) from 72 kindergartens across two academic years. The teacher-level data were collected from kindergarten 1 (K1) teachers, and child-level data were assessed at both K1 and kindergarten 2 (K2). Results from multilevel regression modeling revealed that K1 teachers’ perceived stress significantly predicted children’s internalizing problems in K2, demonstrating the longitudinal impact of teachers’ well-being on child outcomes. However, teacher general self-efficacy and classroom chaos were not significantly associated with child internalizing problems. The findings underscore the importance of managing teachers’ stress to promote children’s socio-emotional development. The study provides valuable insights for developing policy and intervention programs to enhance kindergarten teachers’ well-being and support children’s development in Hong Kong’s early childhood education.