Group adjustment links employability and turnover intention among Hong Kong kindergarten teachers: A school-to-work transition study

Group adjustment links employability and turnover intention among Hong Kong kindergarten teachers: A school-to-work transition study

• Li, Jianbin The Education University of Hong Kong
• Yang, An Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 66, 191-198, 2023

Elsevier

2023

• M Teachers & Education for Teachers
  • MC Teachers' Certification, Employment & Salary

Employability Work Adaptation Intention to Leave Organizational Socialization School-to-work Transition

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

Turnover intention of kindergarten teachers is a concerning issue. This issue is particularly salient for novice teachers who, although employed, are still actively exploring their career choices. Scant research has examined what factors during the pre-service period can predict newly appointed kindergarten teachers’ turnover intention and the underlying mechanisms. To fill these gaps, we examined a possible, yet understudied, idea that kindergarten teachers’ employability during the pre-service period would shape their work adjustment after being employed (i.e., how well newcomers adjust to the job demands, work group, and organizational culture), and poor work adjustment would further elicit turnover intention. We tested this idea with a longitudinal, school-to-work transition study among 117 novice kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong. Participants reported their employability at the last semester of a pre-service teacher training program (T1). One to two months after the fall semester began, participants employed as in-service teachers reported their adjustment at work (T2). Then, they reported turnover intention at the beginning of the spring semester (T3). The results showed that T1 employability positively predicted T2 task and group adjustment but not organizational adjustment. More importantly, the indirect effect of T2 group adjustment was significant in the link between T1 employability and T3 turnover intention, but the indirect effects of task and organizational adjustment were insignificant. These findings illuminate the group adjustment mechanism behind the association between novice kindergarten teachers’ employability during the pre-service period and later turnover intention at work, contributing to the socialization process and professional development for novice teachers in the kindergarten context. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

• English

Journal Articles

• 08852006

• 10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.10.011

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/61ae7bbf

2024-02-15