The Effect of Intellectual Humility on Professional Knowledge in Preschool Teachers: The Dual Mediating Effects of Self-Development Needs and Teacher’s Teamwork

Abstract

Objectives Intellectual humility refers to a tendency to recognize and accept that one’s personal beliefs or knowledge may be fallible and limited. The purpose of this study is to examine whether preschool teachers’ intellectual humility predicts self-development needs and teamwork, which in turn, predict professional knowledge. In other words, the current study investigates the dual mediating effects of self-development needs and teamwork in the relationship between intellectual humility and professional knowledge in preschool teachers. Methods A total of 206 teachers across 32 preschools participated in this study. The participating teachers completed questionnaires on intellectual humility, self-development needs, teamwork, and professional knowledge. SPSS 25.0 was used to test the mediating effect of self-development needs and teamwork on the relationship between intellectual humility and professional knowledge in teachers. In addition, PROCESS macro version 3.4 (Hayes, 2017) was used to confirm the indirect effect. Results The teachers’ intellectual humility predicts professional knowledge via self-development needs and teamwork. In other words, teachers who acknowledge their own intellectual limits and are open to new experiences and learning opportunities have a higher level of professional knowledge in teaching, and this relation is mediated by both self-development needs and teamwork. The bootstrapping results also suggest that the indirect effect is statistically significant. Conclusion This study is the first to introduce and apply a new concept of intellectual humility in a Korean sample. By showing the relationship between intellectual humility, self-development needs, teacher teamwork, and professional knowledge, the study highlights the importance of intellectual virtue in preschool teachers. Keywords: intellectual humility, self-development needs, teacher teamwork, professional knowledge