Perceived Organizational Support, Emotional Labor, and Professional Identity in Preschool Teachers: Moderating Role of Psychological Capital
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background and Aim: Preschool educators in China face mounting emotional and professional strain due to policy reforms, low occupational status, and emotionally intensive teaching demands. While existing research highlights challenges in early childhood education, fewer studies explore how institutional and psychological resources jointly shape professional identity. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and emotional labor theory, this study examines how perceived organizational support (POS) affects professional identity (PI), with emotional labor (EL) as a mediator and psychological capital (PsyCap) as a moderator.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 928 preschool teachers from public and private kindergartens in Shandong Province, China, was conducted. Standardized scales measured POS, EL, PsyCap, and PI, with Cronbach’s α > 0.88 for all constructs. Structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro (Model 7) were used to test the moderated mediation model, with bootstrap methods applied to estimate indirect effects and interactions.
Results: POS significantly and positively predicted PI, and negatively predicted EL. EL partially mediated the POS–PI relationship. Furthermore, PsyCap moderated the indirect effect, such that the mediating role of EL was stronger among teachers with higher levels of PsyCap. These findings validate a resource-interaction model where both organizational and internal resources shape professional identity.
Conclusion: Organizational support enhances preschool teachers’ professional identity both directly and by reducing emotional strain. Psychological capital amplifies this effect, enabling teachers to better internalize support. The findings underscore the need for early education policies to strengthen both institutional support and individual psychological capacities.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright on any article in the International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews is retained by the author(s) under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permission to use text, content, images, etc. of publication. Any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose. But do not use it for commercial use or with the intent to benefit any business.
References
Avey, J. B., Reichard, R. J., Luthans, F., & Mhatre, K. H. (2011). Meta‐analysis of the impact of positive psychological capital on employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 22(2), 127–152. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.20070
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Brotheridge, C. M., & Lee, R. T. (2003). Development and validation of the Emotional Labour Scale. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76(3), 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317903769647229
Curran, P. J., West, S. G., & Finch, J. F. (1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1(1), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.1.1.16
Day, C., & Kington, A. (2008). Identity, well-being, and effectiveness: The emotional contexts of teaching. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 16(1), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681360701877743
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500–507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Grandey, A. A. (2000). Emotion regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.1.95
Hargreaves, A. (1998). The emotional practice of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(8), 835–854. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(98)00025-0
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. M. (2004). Human, social, and now positive psychological capital management: Investing in people for competitive advantage. Organizational Dynamics, 33(2), 143–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2004.01.003
Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B., & Norman, S. M. (2007). Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00083.x
Shanock, L. R., & Eisenberger, R. (2006). When supervisors feel supported: Relationships with subordinates’ perceived supervisor support, perceived organizational support, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 689–695. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.689
Wei, S. (2008). A study on the construction and development of preschool teachers’ professional identity in China [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. East China Normal University.
Zembylas, M. (2003). Caring for teacher emotion: Reflections on teacher self‐development. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 22(2), 103–125. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022293304065
