Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine perceived levels of burnout and job satisfaction of Greek early educators, across public and private sector. One hundred and seventy eight childhood educators participated in the study.  108 were working in the public sector, 67 in private sector, whereas three did not respond. Participants were administered the Employees Satisfaction Inventory (ESI, Koustelios and Bagiatis, 1997) and the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI, Maslach and Jackson, 1986). Results showed that early educators experienced moderate levels of emotional exhaustion.  Public sector early educators were more satisfied from the job itself and their immediate supervisor than their counterparts in the private sector. Regression analysis showed that job satisfaction facets which contributed to early educators’ burnout varied as a function of their workplace.  In particular, satisfaction from the nature of the job and working conditions negatively contributed to the prediction of public sector early educators’ emotional exhaustion levels.  On the other hand, increased levels of satisfaction from the nature of the job and immediate supervisor were associated with reduced private sector early educators’ emotional exhaustion levels.

Key words: job satisfaction, burnout, emotional exhaustion, early educators, Greece