An Axiomatic Approach in the Development of the Theory of Early Childhood Teachers’ Work Engagement

Abstract

This study used the axiomatic approach to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework to understand the job engagement of early childhood education teachers. Following Padua’s (2012) axiomatic methodology, the study was conducted in five stages. The first stage was the selection of phenomena of interest, which focused on resolving the issues of terminology and data utilization used by researchers. The second stage was a literature review to organize existing theories and secure basic data for developing new theories. The third stage, brainstorming, was to generate ideas using creative problem-solving techniques, and the fourth stage was to form axioms on the interaction of basic psychological needs, autonomy support, job demands, and resources. The final stage explained various factors affecting the job engagement of early childhood education teachers through theory building. The results of the study revealed that the socioeconomic status, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, intrinsic motivation, job demands, and resources of early childhood education teachers had a significant effect on job engagement. This provides a theoretical basis that can contribute to educational institutions and policy makers developing strategies to increase teachers’ job engagement.

Keywords: Childcare Teachers, Work Environment, Work Engagement, Axiomatic approach

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/15-10-07

Publication date: September 30th 2024