How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset
IntroductionDue to the unique challenges and high-intensity emotional labor in their work, kindergarten teachers’ high levels of job burnout and turnover rate have become a widely recognized social issue. To address this situation, exploring the key factors that enhance kindergarten teachers’ profes...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1588334/full |
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| author | Wei Luo Xingcan Ni Chundie Wang Jiaqin Wang Yujia Zeng Chengfu Yu |
| author_facet | Wei Luo Xingcan Ni Chundie Wang Jiaqin Wang Yujia Zeng Chengfu Yu |
| author_sort | Wei Luo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionDue to the unique challenges and high-intensity emotional labor in their work, kindergarten teachers’ high levels of job burnout and turnover rate have become a widely recognized social issue. To address this situation, exploring the key factors that enhance kindergarten teachers’ professional identity is of paramount importance. Professional identity development is influenced not only by the cultural contexts and workplace environment but also by individual teacher characteristics. However, existing research on how environmental and psychological factors interact to influence the professional identity of kindergarten teachers is scarce.MethodsThis study examined the effects of perceived school goal structure on kindergarten teachers’ professional identity and explored the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and the moderating role of growth mindsets. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,475 kindergarten teachers from China, selected using random sampling.ResultsThe results demonstrated that school learning and performance goal structures indirectly affected teachers’ professional identity through the mediating role of BPNS; however, only the school learning goal structure directly affected professional identity. Additionally, growth mindsets only moderated the relationship between school performance goal structure and BPNS. Regardless of the school performance goal structure, teachers with strong growth mindsets reported higher levels of BPNS than those with weak growth mindsets.DiscussionThis study provides a solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for improving teachers’ professional identity within the unique sociocultural context of China. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1f46dc043fba4ae4aece3f854c41f28d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-1f46dc043fba4ae4aece3f854c41f28d2025-08-20T03:53:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-04-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15883341588334How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindsetWei Luo0Xingcan Ni1Chundie Wang2Jiaqin Wang3Yujia Zeng4Chengfu Yu5School of Education, Guangdong Polytechnic, Foshan, ChinaDepartment of Psychology/Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology/Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology/Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology/Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology/Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, ChinaIntroductionDue to the unique challenges and high-intensity emotional labor in their work, kindergarten teachers’ high levels of job burnout and turnover rate have become a widely recognized social issue. To address this situation, exploring the key factors that enhance kindergarten teachers’ professional identity is of paramount importance. Professional identity development is influenced not only by the cultural contexts and workplace environment but also by individual teacher characteristics. However, existing research on how environmental and psychological factors interact to influence the professional identity of kindergarten teachers is scarce.MethodsThis study examined the effects of perceived school goal structure on kindergarten teachers’ professional identity and explored the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and the moderating role of growth mindsets. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,475 kindergarten teachers from China, selected using random sampling.ResultsThe results demonstrated that school learning and performance goal structures indirectly affected teachers’ professional identity through the mediating role of BPNS; however, only the school learning goal structure directly affected professional identity. Additionally, growth mindsets only moderated the relationship between school performance goal structure and BPNS. Regardless of the school performance goal structure, teachers with strong growth mindsets reported higher levels of BPNS than those with weak growth mindsets.DiscussionThis study provides a solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for improving teachers’ professional identity within the unique sociocultural context of China.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1588334/fullperceived school goal structureprofessional identitybasic psychological needs satisfactiongrowth mindsetkindergarten teacher |
| spellingShingle | Wei Luo Xingcan Ni Chundie Wang Jiaqin Wang Yujia Zeng Chengfu Yu How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset Frontiers in Psychology perceived school goal structure professional identity basic psychological needs satisfaction growth mindset kindergarten teacher |
| title | How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset |
| title_full | How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset |
| title_fullStr | How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset |
| title_full_unstemmed | How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset |
| title_short | How do different perceived school goal structures affect Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional identity? The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset |
| title_sort | how do different perceived school goal structures affect chinese kindergarten teachers professional identity the role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset |
| topic | perceived school goal structure professional identity basic psychological needs satisfaction growth mindset kindergarten teacher |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1588334/full |
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