Teachers’ social-emotional competence (SEC) has been recognized as a personal resource that may contribute to their well-being. However, empirical evidence has been limited in Korea. This study aimed to examine the relationship between SEC and well-...
Teachers’ social-emotional competence (SEC) has been recognized as a personal resource that may contribute to their well-being. However, empirical evidence has been limited in Korea. This study aimed to examine the relationship between SEC and well-being among Korean elementary school homeroom teachers and to explore whether this relationship is moderated by the proportion of students with emotional and behavioral difficulties in their classrooms and the school climate. Survey data were collected from a nationwide voluntary sample of 223 elementary school homeroom teachers.
The results showed that teachers’ SEC was significantly related to all four indicators of teacher well-being: positive affect, anxiety and depression, job satisfaction, and job burnout. Interaction analysis revealed that the promotive effects of teachers’ SEC on positive affect and job satisfaction weakened as the proportion of students with emotional and behavioral difficulties increased. In addition, the protective effects of teachers’ SEC on their own anxiety, depression, and job burnout also diminished with an increase in the proportion of such students. Meanwhile, there was no significant interaction between teachers’ SEC and school climate. The findings suggest a need for intervention programs to enhance teachers’ SEC in order to promote their well-being, as well as systematic support to create an educational environment where teachers can effectively leverage their SEC at school.