Linking professional development opportunities to work performance among Chinese kindergarten teachers: The mediating roles of commitment and engagement

Linking professional development opportunities to work performance among Chinese kindergarten teachers: The mediating roles of commitment and engagement

• Leung, Tuen Yung Iris The Education University of Hong Kong
• Lam, Chun Bun Ian The Education University of Hong Kong

Education Sciences, 15(3), 2025

MDPI

2025

• M Teachers & Education for Teachers
  • MA Professional Education for Teachers
• M Teachers & Education for Teachers
  • MH Teacher Evaluation : Teacher Effectiveness

Professional Development Engagement Commitment Work Performance Kindergarten Teachers

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

• View Full Text 全文連結

Kindergarten teachers’ performance at work has important implications for the quality of early childhood education and the development of children. Therefore, promoting teachers’ work performance is of interest to kindergarten managers and policymakers. Evidence suggests that professional development opportunities may play an important role in understanding employees’ work performance. However, the possible mechanism underlying the relationship between professional development opportunities and work performance remains underexplored, especially among kindergarten teachers. This cross-sectional study examined whether professional commitment and work engagement mediated the association of professional development opportunities with work performance among Chinese kindergarten teachers. Online questionnaire data were collected from 336 kindergarten teachers working in Hong Kong, China (mean age = 31.6 years; 86% of them were women). Kindergarten teachers rated the availability of professional development opportunities and their work performance. They also rated their professional commitment (indicated by affective, continuance, and normative commitment) and work engagement (indicated by vigor, dedication, and absorption). Structural equational modeling revealed that both professional commitment and work engagement uniquely mediated the association between professional development opportunities and work performance. The findings illustrated how professional development opportunities may enhance work performance by motivating teachers at the affective/cognitive and the behavioral levels. The findings also pointed to the potential utility of supporting the work performance of kindergarten teachers by providing them with ample professional development opportunities and promoting their professional commitment and work engagement. Copyright © 2025 by the authors.

• English

Journal Articles

• 22277102

• 10.3390/educsci15030342

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/3d8a9b80

2025-11-04