Teachers’ social self-efficacy is an important construct that has not been examined adequately in education yet. Developing a comprehensive understanding of teachers’ social self-efficacy requires measuring these beliefs in the social domain of teachers’ functioning. This study developed the Teachers’ Social Self-Efficacy Scale (TSSES) scale and investigated its psychometric properties in a total sample of 650 preschool teachers from Greece. Results from factor analysis revealed a bi-factor model underlying a global TSSE factor and five specific factors. Evidence of validity was obtained with the TSSES prediction on the closeness and conflict dimensions of teacher–student relationship quality. Findings showed that the TSSES can be considered as a valid and reliable instrument. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Social–emotional development in early childhood lays the groundwork for school readiness, healthy relationships, and long-term well-being. Parents play a pivotal role in this process, shaping children’s emotional awareness, regulation, and social competence through everyday interactions. This literature review synthesizes evidence from 74 peer-reviewed studies to evaluate nine evidence-based parenting interventions targeting parents of preschool-aged children. The programs were analyzed with respect to their objectives, theoretical foundations, components, and the resulting outcomes for both parents and children. Across interventions, consistent benefits emerged in children, including improved emotion recognition, regulation, empathy, and prosocial behavior, as well as reductions in internalizing problems. Parents also gained in confidence and positive discipline practices. Key elements linked to effectiveness included active parent skill-building (such as modeling, role play, and guided practice), structured parent–child interactions, multi-component designs integrating home and school contexts, and flexible delivery formats that adapt to family needs. These findings underscore the critical role of parenting interventions as an evidence-based method to enhance preschoolers’ social–emotional development.

The main aim of this study is to explore early childhood teachers’ social self-efficacy in Cyprus, Greece, and Portugal. In addition, this study examines the validity of the factorial structure of the Teachers’ Social Self-Efficacy Scale (TSSES). A sample of 349 early childhood teachers across the three countries participated in this study. An exploratory analysis and then a confirmatory factor analysis were employed to reveal the structure of the TSSES. Configural and metric invariance were established for the one-factor structure of the TSSES. The results showed that teachers in Portugal and Cyprus experience high levels of social self-efficacy, whereas Greek teachers experience moderate to high levels of social self-efficacy. The TSSES seems to be a reliable instrument for assessing social self-efficacy beliefs. Possible implications for practice are also discussed.

Teachers’ burnout, a psychological syndrome that emerges in response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job, can have serious consequences on children and staff in schools. The Maslach Burnout Inventory – Educators Survey (MBI-ES) is the most widely used scale to measure burnout among educational staff. However, this scale has revealed divergent results in factorial validity analysis across countries, calling for further cross-cultural research. This study examines the cross-cultural factorial validity of MBI-ES among a sample of 391 early childhood education professionals from four countries – Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, and Romania. Results of multi-group confirmatory factor analysis suggest that a 1-factor solution, exclusively focused on measuring emotional exhaustion, holds partial scalar invariance across countries. In light of previous research on this scale, the conceptualization of burnout, and the specificities of working in early childhood education and care contexts, these findings are discussed.