Introduction Grounded in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study investigates the relationships between teacher authenticity, professional identity, psychological capital (PsyCap), and work engagement within mainland China’s educational system, focusing on K-12 teachers (N = 627) navigating high-stakes testing environments. Methods Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the quantitative phase utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a hypothesized mediation model. A subsequent qualitative phase (N = 26) involved thematic analysis to corroborate findings and holistic critical case analysis to explain quantitative outliers or “deviant” cases. Results Quantitative findings demonstrated that authenticity and professional identity significantly predict work engagement, both directly and indirectly through PsyCap, which emerged as a robust mediator (authenticity total effect β = 0.390, p < 0.001; professional identity total effect β = 0.485, p < 0.001). While thematic analysis corroborated these patterns, the critical case analysis revealed that these positive relationships are contingent upon organizational alignment and career stage. Discussion These results suggest that while authenticity and identity are vital personal resources, their efficacy in driving engagement is moderated by the institutional context. The study offers nuanced implications for fostering teacher well-being within high-stakes educational environments.
In the contemporary Chinese educational landscape, characterized by involution (
neijuan
) and increasing digital encroachment, the maintenance of educator well-being has become a critical challenge. This study investigated how teacher burnout and psychological capital (PsyCap) predict psychological well-being (PWB), with a specific focus on the mediating role of work-life balance (WLB).
An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. In the quantitative phase, survey data were collected from 842 primary and secondary school teachers across three Chinese provinces and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In the qualitative phase, the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was used with 20 teachers selected through deviant case sampling.
SEM revealed that WLB partially mediated the relationships between both burnout (
β
= −0.090) and PsyCap (
β
= 0.122) and PWB. The model accounted for 52.8% of the variance in teacher well-being. Analysis of 40 critical incidents revealed that successful WLB was driven by “tactical pathway generation” rather than passive optimism. However, qualitative narratives also exposed a “digital panopticon” fueled by WeChat-based expectations of 24/7 availability, which led to significant boundary thinning. Furthermore, a “competence trap” was identified, where high self-efficacy paradoxically accelerated burnout by encouraging teachers to accept excessive invisible labor.
These findings suggest that while PsyCap is a vital personal resource, its effectiveness is constrained by structural and digital boundary fractures within the Chinese school system. Implications for school leadership and policy interventions aimed at protecting teacher mental health in the digital age are discussed.
Chen Cheng, Anurak Panyanuwat, Xiao-Hong Li et al.· Frontiers in Psychology· 0 citations
This study aims to investigate the relationship between work engagement (WE) and solving problems creatively (SPC) among middle managers. It conceptualizes training and learning effort (TLE) as a proactive behavioral mediator and examines the moderating role of gender as a culturally embedded contextual filter.
A quantitative survey was conducted with 197 middle managers in the Tunisian private-banking sector. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling via WarpPLS (version 8.0), combining global moderated mediation modeling with multigroup analysis (MGA) to compare structural pathways across genders.
WE directly and indirectly boosts SPC via the partial mediation of TLE. The global interaction model confirmed that gender significantly moderated the direct WE–SPC relationship. Although the MGA lacks the statistical power to detect significant differences between subgroup slopes on this direct path, it reveals that the WE–TLE link is significantly stronger for male managers. These results highlight differentiated pathways: engaged female managers rely on direct creative agency to navigate organizational boundaries, whereas engaged male managers channel their motivation into structured learning to enhance their creativity.
By integrating global moderation with MGA in a transitional Arab context, this study challenges the universalist and gender-neutral assumptions of the job demands-resources framework. This positions the Tunisian banking sector as a unique theoretical laboratory, demonstrating how cultural boundaries and gendered expectations actively redirect the behavioral translation of motivational resources into adaptive outcomes in this sector.
Afef Ben Delhouma Sghairi· European Journal of Training...· 0 citations
This study addresses the limited integration of spiritual, service-oriented, and innovation-based leadership in schools located in disadvantaged regions of Indonesia. Existing leadership models tend to emphasize managerial and transformational dimensions while overlooking holistic and context-sensitive approaches. This study aims to develop and validate a holistic educational leadership model, namely the 3SI model (Self, Spirit, Service, Innovation), using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design.Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis, leading to the construction of the 3SI framework. The model was then quantitatively tested using SEM-PLS involving 50 principals and 150 teachers. The results indicate that holistic leadership significantly affects educational service quality (β = 0.773, p < 0.001) and teacher job satisfaction (β= 0.567, p < 0.001). Service and innovation dimensions show the strongest effects. The model demonstrates high validity (AVE > 0.5) and reliability (CR > 0.9). This study contributes a novel integrative leadership model that combines spiritual, relational, and adaptive dimensions, offering a contextually grounded framework for improving school performance in resource-constrained settings.
Eli Karyati, A. Komariah, D. Satori et al.· Journal of Education and Tea...· 0 citations
This study aimed to design and validate a comprehensive model of questioning skills for higher education employees by identifying causal, contextual, and intervening conditions, strategic pathways, and individual and organizational outcomes. An exploratory mixed-methods design was employed. In the qualitative phase, 14 semi-structured interviews with academic and administrative experts were conducted and analyzed using grounded theory (open, axial, and selective coding). In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire derived from the qualitative findings was distributed to 322 higher education employees. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS, with reliability assessed via Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability, and convergent validity confirmed using AVE. Causal conditions such as organizational loyalty, critical thinking, social intelligence, motivation, and personal growth orientation significantly predicted the core phenomenon of questioning (β=0.562, T=14.395). Contextual (β=0.252, T=7.244) and intervening conditions (β=0.356, T=9.347) influenced strategic actions, while the core phenomenon strongly predicted strategies (β=0.424, T=11.831). Strategies had a robust effect on outcomes (β=0.586, T=15.252). Model fit was confirmed with GOF=0.425, high Q² values, and satisfactory reliability (CR>0.7) and convergent validity (AVE>0.5). The validated model offers an integrated framework for understanding and enhancing questioning skills among higher education employees. It can serve as a practical tool for fostering creativity, systemic thinking, and performance improvement while guiding leaders and policymakers to promote a culture of inquiry and professional growth in universities.
Fatemeh Roasaei, Hamid Taboli, M. Beheshtifar· Management, Education and De...· 0 citations
This study targets post‑1995 highly‑educated secondary‑school teachers in China. Despite accumulating evidence on perceived overqualification (POQ), few longitudinal studies have unpacked its temporally ordered predictive effects on teacher work engagement within educational contexts. Drawing on Relative Deprivation Theory and Self‑Determination Theory, this study adopts an 18‑month three‑wave time‑lagged longitudinal design and constructs a moderated‑mediation model where harmonious work passion (HWP) serves as the mediator and humble leadership (HL) acts as the boundary condition. Based on valid three‑wave data from 498 teachers, hierarchical regression, 5000‑time bootstrap tests and supplementary sequential path analysis are conducted to test the hypothesized temporal predictive associations. Statistical results indicate that POQ exerts significant negative predictive effects on both HWP and work engagement, HWP fully mediates the POQ‑work engagement linkage, and humble leadership buffers the detrimental POQ‑HWP association; when teachers perceive high‑level humble leadership, POQ’s negative influence on intrinsic work passion is weakened, which further attenuates POQ’s indirect adverse effect transmitted via HWP, and time‑lagged results support unidirectional lagged predictive paths that T1 POQ predicts T2 HWP and T2 HWP predicts T3 work engagement. Theoretically, this research establishes an integrated dual‑theoretical framework, validates HWP’s exclusive full‑mediating role among teacher samples, and introduces humble leadership as a novel contextual moderator for education. Practically, school administrators can implement job enrichment, build multi‑layered career pathways and foster humble leadership among supervisors to mitigate qualification‑mismatch‑triggered losses and sustain stable teacher work engagement. This study extends the boundary conditions of POQ research and provides operable strategies for K12 institutions to retain high‑credential young educators.
Unknown authors· Frontiers in Psychology· 0 citations
The study aims to investigate the mediating role of authenticity at work (AAW) and need for recovery for emotional laborers in the relationship between job characteristics and occupational outcomes (OO), while exploring the moderating effect of job resources (JR).
A theoretical model was developed based on JD-R model. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,012 emotional laborers in emerging economies. Hypotheses were examined using structural equation modeling.
AAW is positively associated with OO, whereas need for recovery is negatively associated. JR notably buffer job demands (JD), lessening their harm on authenticity and reducing need for recovery.
Although the cross-sectional design includes controls for potential errors, it remains limited in analyzing variable dynamics. Hence, future research is recommended to employ longitudinal or mixed-method approaches and examine cultural and contextual influences on emotional laborers.
Organizations should enhance supervisor support and learning opportunities while fostering authentic, psychologically safe leadership. Mentorship, peer support and autonomy help employees manage emotional demands and structured recovery practices, such as micro-breaks, task rotation and mindfulness should be institutionalized.
The study extends the JD-R model in two ways. First, elaborates on the moderating role of JR in the process linking JD, authenticity and recovery for emotional laborers, resulting in OO. Second, provides insight into emotional labor in emerging economies based on evidence obtained from service employees working in emerging countries.
M. Lê, Yen Nhi Nguyen, Van Nhi Nguyen et al.· Evidence-based HRM: a Global...· 0 citations
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