Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Grace Enriquez

Second Advisor

Lisa Kuh

Third Advisor

Yvonne Liu-Constant

Abstract

Abstract

This convergent parallel mixed methods study examined how kindergarten teachers who implement a play-based pedagogy describe its influence on their professional identity, self-efficacy, and well-being. Kindergarten represents a critical educational juncture where tensions between developmental practice and academic acceleration are most pronounced, yet existing research has not adequately examined how pedagogical approaches affect the teachers who implement them. While extensive research documents the benefits of play-based learning for children’s development, the experiences of the teachers who facilitate that learning remain largely unexamined. This study addressed that gap through three integrated frameworks: Self-Determination Theory, Seligman’s model of well-being encompassing positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment, and Pianta’s teacher-student relationship framework. Twenty-five public school kindergarten teachers from New Hampshire and Massachusetts completed validated instruments measuring basic psychological needs, self-efficacy, well-being, and student-teacher relationship quality. 18 participants completed semi-structured interviews analyzed through two-cycle coding. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and then integrated to identify convergence, divergence, and complementarity. Findings revealed that professional identity, self-efficacy, and well-being form an interconnected system sustained by play-based teaching. Self-efficacy and overall well-being were strongly correlated, driven by a confidence feedback loop in which teachers observed children’s authentic learning during play and interpreted it as evidence of their own effectiveness. Meaning was the highest well-being dimension, grounded in relational purpose that persisted despite institutional constraint. Teacher-child closeness approached ceiling effect and correlated significantly with well-being, with teachers identifying play as the context that made genuine knowledge of children possible. Autonomy was the most constrained psychological need, with qualitative accounts of covert resistance and moral distress exceeding what quantitative scores conveyed. Emergent themes included academic pushdown, demoralization distinct from burnout, curriculum translation as pedagogical expertise, and administrative support as a gateway variable moderating all other findings. These findings suggest that institutional policies restricting play-based practice require teachers to act against their professional identity, simultaneously eroding efficacy and well-being. Implications address administrator preparation, professional development design, and kindergarten scheduling policies.

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