The Relation between Resilience and Life Satisfaction in Pre-Service PreschoolTeachers in Turkey

Volume 11 Issue 1 May - July 2017

Research Paper

The Relation between Resilience and Life Satisfaction in Pre-Service PreschoolTeachers in Turkey

G�?nselI Yildirim* , Sibel Șnmez**

* Associate Professor, Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

** Assistant Professor, Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey

Yildirim,G., and Sönmez, S. (2017). The Relation between Resilience and Life Satisfaction in Pre-Service Preschool Teachers in Turkey. i-manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 11(1), 5-13. https://doi.org/10.26634/jpsy.11.1.13647

Abstract

At present, it is important that individuals have wellness and abilities to cope with problems and to create solutions to problems. These abilities influence individuals' life satisfaction and resilience levels. Life satisfaction refers to well-being and predominance of positive feelings over negative feelings. It is agreed that the less the discrepancy between desires and achievements is, the higher the life satisfaction is. Resilience and life satisfaction are two concepts which have gained importance recently. The objective of this study was to examine factors influencing resilience and life satisfaction and the relation between resilience and life satisfaction in pre-service preschool teachers at Dokuz Eylül University and Ege University. The study was based on the relational screening model. Data were collected with the Resilience Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale in the spring term of the 2015/2016 academic year. Two hundred students were included into the study through random sampling. Of 200 students, 181 (90.5%) were female and 19 (9.5%) were male. Data were analyzed with independent samples t test, one-way variance analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis. Resilience and its several subscales are associated with life satisfaction. As resilience increases so does life satisfaction. Social support is effective in improvement of resilience. Young people living in metropolises are lucky in terms of gaining leadership features and being full of life. In addition, young people feeling happy with their study field can be more powerful and full of life and have more initiative and goals. The students luckiest in terms of being optimistic and full of life can be the ones having middle socio-economic status. The positive relation between resilience and life satisfaction reveals the significance of resilience. Therefore, children should be provided with appropriate environments which will develop resilience. Besides, families and teachers should be informed about the issue. Awareness of the society about social support, which helps develop resilience, could also be increased and importance of support from peers, families and relatives in lives of individuals could be emphasized. In addition, suitable environments could be provided for social activities at and outside school.