The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Fear of Failure and Academic Burnout Among Pre-service Early Childhood Teachers

This study examined the relationship between fear of failure and academic burnout among pre-service early childhood teachers and investigated the mediating role of self-compassion.The participants were 312 pre-service early childhood teachers enrolled in early childhood education departments at universities located in J City, South Korea.Data were collected using the Fear of Failure Scale, the Academic Burnout Scale, and the Self-Compassion Scale, and analyzed using SPSS 21.0.Pearson correlation analysis examined relationships among the variables.The three-step regression procedure proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986), along with the Sobel test, was used to verify the mediating effect of self-compassion.The results indicated that fear of failure was positively correlated with academic burnout and negatively correlated with self-compassion, whereas selfcompassion was negatively correlated with academic burnout.Furthermore, self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between fear of failure and academic burnout, and the Sobel test confirmed the statistical significance of this indirect effect.These findings indicate that self-compassion mediates in the relationship between fear of failure and academic burnout among pre-service early childhood teachers.This study provides empirical evidence on the relationship among fear of failure, selfcompassion, and academic burnout.It offers a basis for developing educational and counseling programs aimed at fostering self-compassion in teacher education.