Special and rehabilitation pedagogues face many challenges in their working environment that
significantly affect their well-being. Subjective well-being is a key concept in positive
psychology, that encompasses a cognitive and an affective evaluation of a person’s life. It is also
associated with numerous positive outcomes, such as higher work efficiency, better interpersonal
relationships and a lower likelihood of burnout. The character strengths of hope and zest
contribute significantly to higher life satisfaction. Hope is a concept similar to optimism, which
refers to the expectations of positive outcomes for the future; zest enables individuals to perform
tasks with enthusiasm and energy. A sense of a calling at work influences how people perceive
their work. Those who see their profession as a calling perceive their work as an important part
of their lives; they are committed to their profession and the people they work with. Hope and
zest, as well as a sense of a calling, have s positive impact on various aspects of the professional
and personal lives of education professionals, particularly in terms of higher life satisfaction.
The study in this thesis focuses on the relationship between the character strengths of hope and
zest, a sense of a calling, and subjective well-being, as defined by the PERMA model, in the
population of special and rehabilitation pedagogues. Using a descriptive and causal non
experimental method based on a quantitative and partially qualitative approach, we conducted a
cross-sectional study with a single measurement point. Our sample comprised 120 special
education pedagogues working in different educational programmes. The study was conducted
as part of a research project entitled Character Strengths and Well-Being of Pupils and
Professionals in Education (Vrline in dobrobit učencev in strokovnih delavcev v vzgoji in
izobraževanju). To date, there have been no studies in Slovenia on the subjective well-being of
education professionals as defined in the PERMA model. The results show that special and
rehabilitation pedagogues exhibit high levels of the two character strengths, hope and zest. In
addition, participants demonstrate a strong sense of a calling at work, often stemming from their
conviction to positively impact the lives of children. The study also found that the character
strengths of hope and zest, and the overall subjective well-being were statistically significantly
positively correlated, as were the participants’ sense of a calling and overall subjective well
being. In addition, the years of experience and the workplace of the special and rehabilitation
pedagogues had no influence on the expression of hope and zest. Finally, the study found no
statistically significant difference in participants’ subjective well-being in relation to their years
of experience; however, some statistically significant differences in their subjective well-being
were related to their workplace. This study makes a significant contribution to the recognising
and raising awareness of the importance of subjective well-being of special and rehabilitation
pedagogues. Furthermore, it represents an important scientific contribution to research on the
subjective well-being of professionals in education.
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