The purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships among childcare teachers' growth mindset, grit (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), affective commitment, and flourishing, and to verify the multiple mediating ...
The purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships among childcare teachers' growth mindset, grit (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), affective commitment, and flourishing, and to verify the multiple mediating effects of grit and affective commitment in the relationship between growth mindset and flourishing. For this purpose, data were collected from 315 childcare teachers working at childcare centers in Busan. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 29.0 and AMOS 29.0 to perform Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The mediation effects were verified through the bootstrapping method with 5,000 resamples. The major findings of this study are as follows: First, childcare teachers' growth mindset had a significant direct effect on flourishing (β=.148). This indicates that the cognitive belief that one's abilities can be developed through effort is a fundamental foundation for psychological flourishing. Second, growth mindset significantly influenced the sub-factors of grit (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort) and affective commitment. Third, perseverance of effort and affective commitment had significant direct effects on flourishing, whereas consistency of interest did not significantly predict flourishing. This result highlights that in the context of childcare, practical endurance and emotional bonding are more critical for flourishing than merely maintaining a consistent interest. Fourth, perseverance of effort and affective commitment significantly mediated the relationship between growth mindset and flourishing. Notably, the indirect effect (.331) was approximately 2.24 times larger than the direct effect (.148), accounting for 69.1% of the total effect. The final structural model explained 56.1% of the variance in childcare teachers’ flourishing (R2=.561). In conclusion, this study empirically demonstrates that childcare teachers' flourishing is a multidimensional construct formed through the organic interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal mechanisms. These findings suggest the necessity of providing systematic support, such as mindset enhancement programs and organizational safety nets, to ensure that teachers' efforts lead to professional flourishing rather than burnout. Keywords: Growth Mindset, Grit, Perseverance of Effort, Affective Commitment, Flourishing