The Influence of Preschool Teachers’ Adaptability on Burnout Through Digital Literacy and Teaching Efficacy During the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of the On-line Teaching Experience

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines the extent to which preschool teachers’ adaptability influences their burnout, focusing on the double mediating effects of digital literacy and teaching efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether such effects are influenced by online teaching experiences. It aims to highlight the importance of teachers’ adaptability and digital literacy as protective factors in preventing burnout in situations of crisis or future virtual education environments.Methods: A total of 222 preschool teachers participated in the study and completed online questionnaires on their adaptability, digital literacy, teaching efficacy, burnout, and online teaching experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analyzed using SEM and multigroup SEM in Mplus 8.2.Results: Overall, teachers’ adaptability was directly associated with their digital literacy, teaching efficacy, and burnout, and their teaching efficacy was directly associated with their burnout. Further, teachers’ digital literacy was directly associated with teaching efficacy and burnout, especially among teachers who had online teaching experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, teachers’ adaptability influenced burnout through their teaching efficacy, regardless of their online teaching experience. Additionally, the double mediating effects of digital literacy and teaching efficacy on the association between teachers’ adaptability and burnout were significant regardless of their online teaching experience.Conclusion: The results suggest that the efforts to facilitate teachers’ adaptability and digital literacy can be promising targets in their education to promote adaptive readiness for the new digital education model and to prepare for the the future unexpected crises, such as COVID-19.