Emotional labor and professional identity among pre-service early childhood teachers: the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of social and emotional competence

Objective: This study examined the influence of emotional labor on professional identity among pre-service early childhood teachers, exploring the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of Social and Emotional Competence. Methods: A survey was conducted with 654 pre-service early childhood educators. Participants completed measures of emotional labor, emotional exhaustion, social and emotional competence, and professional identity. A moderated mediation model was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS Macro. Results: Mediation analysis indicated that emotional exhaustion partially mediated the relationship between different dimensions of emotional labor and professional identity. Social and emotional competence (SEC) negatively moderated the direct relationship between surface acting (SA) and emotional exhaustion; However, this moderating effect was not significant for deep acting (DA) or expression of naturally felt emotions (ENFE). Individuals with lower levels of SEC exhibited a stronger positive relationship between SA and emotional exhaustion; as SEC increased, this relationship became less significant. Conclusion: This study advances the understanding of how different emotional labor strategies influence professional identity among pre-service early childhood teachers. It identifies a suppression effect for SA and demonstrates that SEC functions as a moderator only for SA. The results highlight the importance of enhancing pre-service teachers' SEC to mitigate the resource-depleting effects of surface acting. This study contributes to the literature on teacher development and provides theoretical implications for fostering professional identity in early childhood education.