• Prof Lesley Wood, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Previous research conducted by the ECD Research Chair indicated the challenges early childhood centre managers face when interacting with parents/caregivers who they perceive to have unrealistic demands and expectations of what the service should provide regarding childcare and education. Similarly, the emotional strain of recruiting, retaining and motivating staff in a low paid, low status and under-resourced occupation takes its toll on the wellbeing of these women who often have no qualifications or training themselves. This is understandable, considering their working conditions, where many parents cannot afford to pay adequate fees to cover expenses, and government subsidies—if they receive them—only account for 27% of operational costs. However, these enterprising women are creating employment and freeing up thousands of other parents to earn an income. They make an important contribution to the social and economic welfare of the country, but their own wellbeing can suffer in the process. The constant need to manage/hide emotions and maintain a professional stance can lead to emotional exhaustion, burnout, and feelings of alienation from their true self. This study aimed to facilitate a group of managers of ECD centres in a rural area to articulate the relational experiences impacting on their wellbeing and explore how they could better navigate them for positive outcomes. In line with the government’s drive to professionalise the ECD sector, our work with them was guided by Hochschild’s theory of emotional labour that focuses on recognising and managing emotions as part of any professional role requiring interpersonal interaction. Application of the theory could enable the participants to recognise emotional demands, distinguish between surface and deep acting, develop coping mechanisms, and advocate for supportive environments. Following a participatory action learning and action research design, we recruited 10 Black, female managers to form an action learning group, where they could share their experiences and learning in a safe space over several sessions. Visual methods allowed the participants to articulate their feelings and experiences in a non-threatening way. We prompted them to do a drawing to indicate the thoughts, feelings and physical responses they experienced when interacting with parents, staff or other people related to their professional role. After giving opportunity to all to share their drawings, we facilitated discussion about how they might better deal with these feelings in a way that fosters their wellbeing. The group agreed on the broad themes that emerged from their drawings, and we later analysed the data through our theoretical lens. Initial findings indicate that managers feel emotionally drained by difficult interactions with parents and staff. Due to the competitiveness of the private sector, they are loath to confide in others and feel alone in their struggles. They often cope by avoiding difficult discussions with staff, which creates more problems. These findings will be used to inform a second cycle of research where participants will collaborate to develop strategies to decrease the cognitive dissonance arising from their actual feelings and their need to maintain a professional stance. This should in turn increase job satisfaction, self-efficacy and self-esteem, all important markers of wellbeing. In addition, the findings will be used to feed into the development of a short learning course for ECD managers.