IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i17p13258-d1232696.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Linking Preschool Teachers’ Pay Equity and Turnover Intention in Chinese Public Kindergartens: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction

Author

Listed:
  • Ying Liu

    (Department of Early Childhood Education, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China)

  • Yongping Yu

    (Department of Early Childhood Education, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China)

  • Xiaoying Zeng

    (Department of Early Childhood Education, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China)

  • Yufei Li

    (Department of Early Childhood Education, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China)

Abstract

The turnover rate, income levels, and salary distribution among kindergarten teachers in China have gained increasing attention as these issues may negatively affect teacher quality. They largely impede the sustainable development of preschool education. This study aimed to explore the level of perceptions of pay equity among preschool teachers and examine the relationships among pay equity, turnover intention, perceived organizational support (POS), and job satisfaction. A survey was conducted with 2029 preschool teachers from Chinese public kindergartens, and descriptive analysis and covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the level of pay equity for preschool teachers was moderate, with a significant difference between teachers with Bianzhi and those without. The structural equation model revealed a significant negative relationship between teachers’ pay equity and their intent to leave. Perceived organizational support and job satisfaction independently mediated the relationship between pay equity and turnover intention, with a serial mediation effect observed. These findings highlight the importance of considering teachers’ pay equity, POS, and job satisfaction in order to retain high-quality teachers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Liu & Yongping Yu & Xiaoying Zeng & Yufei Li, 2023. "Linking Preschool Teachers’ Pay Equity and Turnover Intention in Chinese Public Kindergartens: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:17:p:13258-:d:1232696
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/13258/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/13258/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Scafidi Benjamin & Sjoquist David L. & Stinebrickner Todd R., 2006. "Do Teachers Really Leave for Higher Paying Jobs in Alternative Occupations?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-44, December.
    2. E. Holly Buttner & Kevin B. Lowe, 2017. "Addressing Internal Stakeholders’ Concerns: The Interactive Effect of Perceived Pay Equity and Diversity Climate on Turnover Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 621-633, July.
    3. Jiing-Lih Farh & Anne S. Tsui & Katherine Xin & Bor-Shiuan Cheng, 1998. "The Influence of Relational Demography and Guanxi: The Chinese Case," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(4), pages 471-488, August.
    4. Peter Heimerl & Marco Haid & Urban Perkmann & Martin Rabensteiner, 2020. "Job Satisfaction as a Driver for Sustainable Development in the Hospitality Industry? Evidence from the Alpine Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Kwon, Kyong-Ah & Malek, Adrien & Horm, Diane & Castle, Sherri, 2020. "Turnover and retention of infant-toddler teachers: Reasons, consequences, and implications for practice and policy," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Munir Shehu Mashi, 2018. "The Mediating role of Job Satisfaction in the Relationship between Organizational Justice and Employee Outcomes," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(16), pages 1351-1360, December.
    7. Juan Yang & Bo Pu & Zhenzhong Guan, 2019. "Entrepreneurial Leadership and Turnover Intention in Startups: Mediating Roles of Employees’ Job Embeddedness, Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, February.
    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. Thomas Lange, 2021. "Job Satisfaction and Implications for Organizational Sustainability: A Resource Efficiency Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Batjargal, Bat, 2007. "Internet entrepreneurship: Social capital, human capital, and performance of Internet ventures in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 605-618, June.
    3. Chih-Ting Shih & Cheng-Chen Lin, 2014. "From good friends to good soldiers: A psychological contract perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 309-326, March.
    4. Tan, Justin & Yang, Jun & Veliyath, Rajaram, 2009. "Particularistic and system trust among small and medium enterprises: A comparative study in China's transition economy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 544-557, November.
    5. Li, Mengyu & Li, Jinglei & Yasin, Megat Al Imran & Hashim, Norliana Binti & Ang, Lay Hoon & Li, Fangyi, 2023. "Where do I belong? A study of associations between guanxi capital and local identity through WeChat use among Chinese youth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    6. Varga, Júlia, 2013. "A közalkalmazotti béremelés hatása a tanárok pályaelhagyási döntéseire [The effect of a public-sector pay increase on teachers attrition]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 579-600.
    7. Lee, Liane W.Y. & Tang, Yiming & Yip, Leslie S.C. & Sharma, Piyush, 2018. "Managing customer relationships in the emerging markets – guanxi as a driver of Chinese customer loyalty," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 356-365.
    8. Dora Gicheva, 2022. "Altruism and Burnout: Long Hours in the Teaching Profession," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 427-457, March.
    9. Xiuxiu Huang & Zhaoyang Li & Qiaoqin Wan, 2019. "From organisational justice to turnover intention among community nurses: A mediating model," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(21-22), pages 3957-3965, November.
    10. Mohammed Alblihed & Haitham Ali Alzghaibi, 2022. "The Impact of Job Stress, Role Ambiguity and Work–Life Imbalance on Turnover Intention during COVID-19: A Case Study of Frontline Health Workers in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Long Zhang & Yulin Deng & Qun Wang, 2014. "An Exploratory Study of Chinese Motives for Building Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(4), pages 659-675, November.
    12. Yu Yan & Shusen Qi, 2021. "I Know What I Need: Optimization of Bribery," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(2), pages 311-332, November.
    13. Isis H Settles & Sheila T Brassel & Patricia A Soranno & Kendra Spence Cheruvelil & Georgina M Montgomery & Kevin C Elliott, 2019. "Team climate mediates the effect of diversity on environmental science team satisfaction and data sharing," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, July.
    14. Jan Ondrich & Emily Pas & John Yinger, 2008. "The Determinants of Teacher Attrition in Upstate New York," Public Finance Review, , vol. 36(1), pages 112-144, January.
    15. Sana Mumtaz & Chris Rowley, 2020. "The relationship between leader–member exchange and employee outcomes: review of past themes and future potential," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 165-189, February.
    16. Sun, Shiwei & Zhang, Jin & Zhu, Yiwei & Jiang, Mian & Chen, Shuhui, 2022. "Exploring users' willingness to disclose personal information in online healthcare communities: The role of satisfaction," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    17. Peter Heimerl & Marco Haid & Lea Benedikt & Ursula Scholl-Grissemann, 2020. "Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction in Hospitality Industry," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, December.
    18. Hongjuan Zhang & Rong Han & Liang Wang & Runhui Lin, 2021. "Social capital in China: a systematic literature review," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(1), pages 32-77, February.
    19. Gilpin, Gregory A., 2011. "Reevaluating the effect of non-teaching wages on teacher attrition," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 598-616, August.
    20. Fei Song & C. Bram Cadsby & Yunyun Bi, 2012. "Trust, Reciprocity, and Guanxi in China: An Experimental Investigation," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 8(2), pages 397-421, July.

    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:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:17:p:13258-:d:1232696. 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.