Association Between Social Support and Job Satisfaction Among Mainland Chinese Ethnic Minority Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediation of Self-Efficacy and Work Engagement.

Shiyong Wu,Guangbao Fang,Xiaowei Zhao,Wei Chen,Mingxi Huang,Shuyi Zhou,Wen Zheng,Xiaoyan Yu,Kai Zhang,Xiujuan Li,Hongbao Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581397

Abstract

Grounded on the social exchange theory (SET), social cognitive theory (SCT), and self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy (SE) and work engagement (WE) on the effect of social support (SS) on job satisfaction (JS) among Chinese ethnic minority kindergarten teachers (KTs). The results show that: (1) SS has a directly significant effect on JS; (2) WE mediates the relationship between SS and JS; and (3) SE mediates the relationship between SS and WE. Although the mediation of SE on the relationship between SS and JS is not found, the posited multiple mediations of SE and WE on the relationship between SS and JS are totally accepted. The results reveal that SS mainland Chinese ethnic minority KTs received can not only have a direct effect on JS but also have an indirect impact through the one-path mediating role of WE and the chain mediating role of SE and WE. The results suggest that governments, supervisors, and sponsors should work together to provide ethnic minority KTs with more prioritized SS from both cultural psychology and financial material and opportunities for facilitating professional knowledge and skills in order to enhance their SE, inspire their WE, and eventually accumulate their JS.

Highlights

Job satisfaction (JS) of kindergarten teachers (KTs) has attracted considerable attention from scholars, educators, and policymakers over the past decade (Moriarty et al, 2001; Klassen and Chiu, 2010; Ylitapio-Mäntylä et al, 2012; Gaias et al, 2018)
Nasurdin et al (2018) depicted that work engagement (WE) mediates the relationship between social support (SS) and JS among Malaysian nurses
Except for SS, participants working at the public schools scored higher for SE, WE, and JS, but there are no significant differences among observed variables by schools

Summary

Introduction

Job satisfaction (JS) of kindergarten teachers (KTs) has attracted considerable attention from scholars, educators, and policymakers over the past decade (Moriarty et al, 2001; Klassen and Chiu, 2010; Ylitapio-Mäntylä et al, 2012; Gaias et al, 2018). Bhamani (2012) debated that the factors determining JS of teachers teaching in early childhood schools in Pakistan are work-related social support (SS), including supervision, coworkers, promotion, rewards, nature of work, payment, benefits, communication, and operational conditions. Abu Taleb (2013) concluded that factors affecting JS of KTs in Amman could be primarily categorized into two dimensions: work-related conditions, SS, SE, WE on JS such as SS, work environment, and fringe benefit, and personal-related variables, such as belief [e.g., self-efficacy (SE)], attitude, and behavior (e.g., work engagement, WE). A few studies have investigated the factors that predict the level of JS of Chinese KTs. For instance, Jiang et al (2019) demonstrated that JS of mainland Chinese KTs could be predicted by SS from the organization, such as teacher empowerment and organizational climate, while Zhang and Wang (2018) reported that KTs with high SE in achieving ideal-self gain a sense of WE and JS. Yang et al (2018) confirmed that KTs in Taiwan with highly effective WE would get greater JS. Wong and Zhang (2014) illustrated that KTs in Hong Kong who perceived school SS in collegial support and professional promotion positively tend to show higher JS levels

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