Characteristics and influencing factors of early childhood teachers’ work stress and burnout: A comparative study between China, Ghana, and Pakistan

Introduction: Many studies have documented the stress and burnout experienced by early childhood teachers. However, few have focused on comparisons among countries, particularly developing ones. Meanwhile, female teachers, who are more sensitive and tend to provide emotional responses, are often overlooked as a major force of emotional involvement. This study examined the similarities and differences of early childhood teachers' stress, burnout, and gender in China, Ghana, and Pakistan. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional design. The participants included 945 preschool and lower primary school teachers recruited from Zhejiang Province in China, the Ashanti Region in Ghana, and Punjab, Pakistan. The analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling. First, the study estimated all parameters separately and without constraints between the groups for all models. Second, the study compared the latent mean difference and of stressors and burnout between teachers' personal and job characteristics. Third, a structural equation model was used to assess the relationship between teachers' stressors and burnout. Results: Across the three countries, female teachers are more stressed out, with higher emotional demands and work-family conflicts, and are more prone to burnout with a greater level of emotional exhaustion and a lower level of personal accomplishments than their male counterparts are. Moreover, Chinese teachers were found to be the most stressed-out group with the highest level of burnout. In comparison to teachers in China and Pakistan, early childhood teachers in Ghana possess the lowest level of emotional demands. With the lowest level of emotional exhaustion and the highest level of personal accomplishments, Pakistani teachers were unlikely to experience burnout. Discussion: This study comparatively analyzed the characteristics of stress and burnout among ECTs in different cultural settings and educational systems in three developing countries (China, Ghana, and Pakistan), and revealed workplace characteristics and circumstances for ECTs. In addition, this study takes gender as the main influencing factor and explores its effect on ECTs' stress and burnout, and it highlights and verifies "emotionality" in ECTs' profession. As a result, policymakers and stakeholders in different countries may be encouraged to improve ECE quality and the well-being of ECTs.