Hu Xiaoshan, Lv Yang, Tan Mei, Hao Bingyu
College of Teachers, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Apr 2;10(7):e29130. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29130. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.
In response to the epochal demand for high-quality development in early childhood education in China, it is imperative and necessary to improve the competency level of early childhood educators. The study aims to investigate the relationship between psychological contracts and teacher competency, and to verify the mediating roles of job crafting and professional identity in the relationship between psychological contracts and teacher competency. This study employed validated measurement scales regarding psychological contracts, teachers' professional identity, job crafting, and teacher competency. Each of these scales has established internal consistency coefficients. Data were collected from 318 early childhood teachers in Sichuan, China. The results highlight the significant impact of psychological contracts on the prediction of teacher competency. It is worth mentioning that the psychological contracts, together with their distinct components such as normative responsibility and development responsibility, have a direct and favorable impact on teacher competency. This implies that developing the psychological contracts might be an effective technique for improving teacher competence. The individual mediation of job crafting and professional identity in the link between psychological contracts and teacher competency has been well-established. However, the combined or chain mediating influence of these factors provides a unique and valuable perspective on the phenomenon of job crafting leading to professional identity, which in turn impacts teacher competency. The study found that psychological contracts have a positive predictive effect on teacher competency, while job crafting and professional identity both have independent and chain mediating roles in the relationship between psychological contracts and teacher competency. Therefore, this study suggests a comprehensive enhancement of the psychological contracts level from aspects such as normative responsibility, interpersonal responsibility, and development responsibility. By stimulating job crafting and professional identity levels in both internal and external environments, we can improve the competency level of early childhood educators.
为响应中国幼儿教育高质量发展的时代需求，提高幼儿教育工作者的能力水平势在必行且十分必要。本研究旨在探讨心理契约与教师能力之间的关系，并验证工作重塑和职业认同在心理契约与教师能力关系中的中介作用。本研究采用了经过验证的关于心理契约、教师职业认同、工作重塑和教师能力的测量量表。这些量表各自都建立了内部一致性系数。数据收集自中国四川的318名幼儿教师。结果凸显了心理契约对教师能力预测的显著影响。值得一提的是，心理契约及其不同组成部分，如规范责任和发展责任，对教师能力有直接且积极的影响。这意味着发展心理契约可能是提高教师能力的有效方法。工作重塑和职业认同在心理契约与教师能力之间的联系中的个体中介作用已得到充分证实。然而，这些因素的联合或链式中介影响为工作重塑导致职业认同进而影响教师能力这一现象提供了独特而有价值的视角。研究发现，心理契约对教师能力有正向预测作用，而工作重塑和职业认同在心理契约与教师能力的关系中都具有独立和链式中介作用。因此，本研究建议从规范责任、人际责任和发展责任等方面全面提升心理契约水平。通过在内部和外部环境中激发工作重塑和职业认同水平，我们可以提高幼儿教育工作者的能力水平。
