Purpose Preschool teachers play a pivotal role in fostecring children’s development, yet in Vietnam this predominantly female workforce faces structural and cultural stressors that undermine psychological well-being. Drawing on self-determination theory and an integrated conceptualization of psychological well-being combining subjective and eudaimonic components, this study aims to examine the relationship between servant leadership of preschool principals and the psychological well-being of female teachers. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 212 Vietnamese female preschool teachers through an online survey. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed shortened measures with satisfactory construct validity for both servant leadership and psychological well-being. Findings Structural equation modeling showed that servant leadership was positively associated with teachers’ psychological well-being. Servant leadership accounted for 16.8% of the variance in psychological well-being, while demographic variables contributed only an additional 1.9% and were not statistically significant. Originality/value These findings refine the application of the servant leadership framework in early childhood education and highlight the importance of relational and development-oriented leadership behaviors in sustaining teacher well-being in a highly feminized profession.
Bui et al. (Fri,) studied this question.