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Determining the Mental Wellbeing of Family Day Care Educators in Australia.

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Title: Determining the Mental Wellbeing of Family Day Care Educators in Australia.
Authors: Rayfield, Theresa1 (AUTHOR) t.rayfield@ecu.edu.au, Wallace, Ruth1 (AUTHOR) ruth.wallace@ecu.edu.au, Lombardi, Karen1,2,3,4 (AUTHOR) karen.lombardi@thekids.org.au, Afrifa-Yamoah, Eben5 (AUTHOR) e.afrifayamoah@ecu.edu.au, Mills, Brennen1 (AUTHOR) b.mills@ecu.edu.au
Source: Early Childhood Education Journal. Mar2026, Vol. 54 Issue 3, p1409-1424. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Psychological resilience, *Educators, *Child care, Mental health, Job stress, Mindfulness, Food security
Geographic Terms: Australia
Abstract: Family Day Care (FDC) is an essential service supporting Australian families requiring convenient, versatile, and quality education and care for their children. FDC educators' mental wellbeing (MWB), often overlooked, is vital to ensure optimal education and care. This study aimed to gauge Australian FDC educators' MWB and identify factors positively or negatively affecting MWB. A cross-sectional questionnaire measuring MWB, and eight predictor variables influencing MWB, was completed by Australian FDC educators. Structural equation modelling was utilised to ascertain relationships of the predictor variables on MWB. This study established MWB was lower than population norms (N = 292) and provided a model accounting for approximately 46% of overall contribution to MWB. Body appreciation and resilience were associated with positive MWB, while increased job stress and food insecurity negatively impacted MWB. This research can inform strategies focused on influential factors impacting FDC educator MWB, ensuring children continue to receive high quality education and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Determining the Mental Wellbeing of Family Day Care Educators in Australia.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rayfield%2C+Theresa%22">Rayfield, Theresa</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> t.rayfield@ecu.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wallace%2C+Ruth%22">Wallace, Ruth</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ruth.wallace@ecu.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lombardi%2C+Karen%22">Lombardi, Karen</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> karen.lombardi@thekids.org.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Afrifa-Yamoah%2C+Eben%22">Afrifa-Yamoah, Eben</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> e.afrifayamoah@ecu.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mills%2C+Brennen%22">Mills, Brennen</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> b.mills@ecu.edu.au</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education+Journal%22">Early Childhood Education Journal</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 54 Issue 3, p1409-1424. 16p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+resilience%22">Psychological resilience</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educators%22">Educators</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+care%22">Child care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health%22">Mental health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Job+stress%22">Job stress</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mindfulness%22">Mindfulness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Food+security%22">Food security</searchLink>
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  Data: Family Day Care (FDC) is an essential service supporting Australian families requiring convenient, versatile, and quality education and care for their children. FDC educators' mental wellbeing (MWB), often overlooked, is vital to ensure optimal education and care. This study aimed to gauge Australian FDC educators' MWB and identify factors positively or negatively affecting MWB. A cross-sectional questionnaire measuring MWB, and eight predictor variables influencing MWB, was completed by Australian FDC educators. Structural equation modelling was utilised to ascertain relationships of the predictor variables on MWB. This study established MWB was lower than population norms (N = 292) and provided a model accounting for approximately 46% of overall contribution to MWB. Body appreciation and resilience were associated with positive MWB, while increased job stress and food insecurity negatively impacted MWB. This research can inform strategies focused on influential factors impacting FDC educator MWB, ensuring children continue to receive high quality education and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1007/s10643-025-01939-2
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Mindfulness
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      – SubjectFull: Food security
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      – SubjectFull: Australia
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Determining the Mental Wellbeing of Family Day Care Educators in Australia.
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            NameFull: Rayfield, Theresa
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              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
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              Y: 2026
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