IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i2p1523-d1035668.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Teacher Well-Being in Chinese Universities: Examining the Relationship between Challenge—Hindrance Stressors, Job Satisfaction, and Teaching Engagement

Author

Listed:
  • Lan Xu

    (Research Center of Higher Education Development, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)

  • Jing Guo

    (Department of Mathematics and Information Technology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China)

  • Longzhao Zheng

    (School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)

  • Qiaoping Zhang

    (Department of Mathematics and Information Technology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China)

Abstract

Improving teacher well-being at work is a great challenge worldwide. Understanding the stressors of Chinese university teachers in teaching activities is critical for shedding light on well-being in the midst of the rapid expansion of the higher education system and the quest to rise in world rankings. This study integrates the well-being perspective and the transactional model of stress and coping to investigate the mechanisms underlying the effect of challenge—hindrance stressors on teacher engagement. Data were collected through the online platform SoJump in mainland China (N = 7743), and structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between challenge—hindrance stressors and teaching engagement. The statistical results revealed the following: (1) challenge stressors had a significant positive effect on teaching engagement, while hindrance stressors were negatively related to teaching engagement; (2) challenge and hindrance stressors were significant negative predictors of teacher job satisfaction; (3) teacher job satisfaction suppressed the impact of challenge stressors on teaching engagement and partially mediated the process by which hindrance stressors impact teaching engagement. The findings suggest that the theoretically opposing effects of the two stressors are not absolute and that special consideration should be given to teachers’ job satisfaction in relation to stress management for university teachers.

Suggested Citation

  • Lan Xu & Jing Guo & Longzhao Zheng & Qiaoping Zhang, 2023. "Teacher Well-Being in Chinese Universities: Examining the Relationship between Challenge—Hindrance Stressors, Job Satisfaction, and Teaching Engagement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1523-:d:1035668
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1523/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1523/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane Qiu, 2010. "Publish or perish in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 463(7278), pages 142-142, January.
    2. Jiri Mudrak & Katerina Zabrodska & Petr Kveton & Martin Jelinek & Marek Blatny & Iva Solcova & Katerina Machovcova, 2018. "Occupational Well-being Among University Faculty: A Job Demands-Resources Model," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(3), pages 325-348, May.
    3. Pearsall, Matthew J. & Ellis, Aleksander P.J. & Stein, Jordan H., 2009. "Coping with challenge and hindrance stressors in teams: Behavioral, cognitive, and affective outcomes," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 18-28, May.
    4. Bochen Pan & Xue Shen & Li Liu & Yilong Yang & Lie Wang, 2015. "Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction among University Teachers in Northeastern Region of China: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Claudiu Herteliu & Marcel Ausloos & Bogdan Vasile Ileanu & Giulia Rotundo & Tudorel Andrei, 2017. "Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Editor Behavior through Potentially Coercive Citations," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Daniele Fanelli, 2012. "Negative results are disappearing from most disciplines and countries," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 90(3), pages 891-904, March.
    3. Muhammad Umer Azeem & Inam Ul Haq & Ghulam Murtaza & Hina Jaffery, 2023. "Challenge–Hindrance Stressors, Helping Behavior and Job Performance: Double-Edged Sword of Religiousness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 687-699, May.
    4. Sabine Kaiser & Astrid M. Richardsen & Monica Martinussen, 2021. "Burnout and Engagement at the Northernmost University in the World," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    5. Ghasem Zaefarian & Matthew J. Robson & Zhaleh Najafi-Tavani & Stavroula Spyropoulou, 2023. "Relationships of stressors and opportunism in cross-border exchange partnership contexts: When and how monitoring matters," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(3), pages 441-475, April.
    6. Bisht, Nidhi S. & Mahajan, Ashish, 2021. "Shared stressors and core self-evaluations: A trait activation perspective on employee performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 103-111.
    7. Martin Grančay & Jolita Vveinhardt & Ērika Šumilo, 2017. "Publish or perish: how Central and Eastern European economists have dealt with the ever-increasing academic publishing requirements 2000–2015," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 1813-1837, June.
    8. Mei Tian & Yan Su & Xin Ru, 2016. "Perish or Publish in China: Pressures on Young Chinese Scholars to Publish in Internationally Indexed Journals," Publications, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Daniele Fanelli & Rodrigo Costas & Vincent Larivière, 2015. "Misconduct Policies, Academic Culture and Career Stage, Not Gender or Pressures to Publish, Affect Scientific Integrity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Frolov, Daniil, 2018. "От Институтов К Экститутам И Далее - К Теории Институциональных Аномалий [From Institutions to Extitutions to the Theory of Institutional Anomalies]," MPRA Paper 90286, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Farhan Sarwar & Siti Aisyah Panatik & Mohammad Saipol Mohd Sukor & Noraini Rusbadrol, 2021. "A Job Demand–Resource Model of Satisfaction With Work–Family Balance Among Academic Faculty: Mediating Roles of Psychological Capital, Work-to-Family Conflict, and Enrichment," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    12. Abrantes, António Cunha Meneses & Passos, Ana Margarida & Cunha, Miguel Pina e & Santos, Catarina Marques, 2018. "Bringing team improvisation to team adaptation: The combined role of shared temporal cognitions and team learning behaviors fostering team performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 59-71.
    13. Mangirdas Morkunas & Elzė Rudienė & Lukas Giriūnas & Laura Daučiūnienė, 2020. "Assessment of Factors Causing Bias in Marketing- Related Publications," Publications, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Valérie Barraud-Didier & Anne-Laure Gatignon-Turnau & Loïc Mazenc, 2021. "Stresseurs au travail, intention de quitter précocement la profession et effets médiateurs de l'épuisement émotionnel : le cas de l'agriculteur," Post-Print hal-03548847, HAL.
    15. Mmbaga, Nick A. & Lerman, Michael P. & Munyon, Timothy P. & Lanivich, Stephen E., 2023. "Juggling Act: Waged time investments and the health–wealth trade-off," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    16. Kiran Sharma & Satyam Mukherjee, 2024. "The ripple effect of retraction on an author’s collaboration network," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 1519-1531, October.
    17. Kirsi Sjöblom & Jaana-Piia Mäkiniemi & Anne Mäkikangas, 2022. "“I Was Given Three Marks and Told to Buy a Porsche”—Supervisors’ Experiences of Leading Psychosocial Safety Climate and Team Psychological Safety in a Remote Academic Setting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-28, September.
    18. Antonio Fernandez-Cano, 2021. "Letter to the Editor: publish, publish … cursed!," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(4), pages 3673-3682, April.
    19. Markus Baer & Abhijeet K. Vadera & Roger T. A. J. Leenders & Greg R. Oldham, 2014. "Intergroup Competition as a Double-Edged Sword: How Sex Composition Regulates the Effects of Competition on Group Creativity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 892-908, June.
    20. Akshaya Kumar Biswal, 2013. "An Absolute Index (Ab-index) to Measure a Researcher’s Useful Contributions and Productivity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(12), pages 1-10, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1523-:d:1035668. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.