Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy

The teacher–child relationship is a key element in measuring the quality of childcare institutions and is essential to the current and future physical and mental developmental outcomes of children. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of private preschool teachers’ readiness to teach...

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Main Authors: Hui Li, Wei Chen, Huihua He, Wenwei Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-10-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/900
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author Hui Li
Wei Chen
Huihua He
Wenwei Luo
author_facet Hui Li
Wei Chen
Huihua He
Wenwei Luo
author_sort Hui Li
collection DOAJ
description The teacher–child relationship is a key element in measuring the quality of childcare institutions and is essential to the current and future physical and mental developmental outcomes of children. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of private preschool teachers’ readiness to teach in influencing the teacher–child relationship, and to explore the mechanisms by which teachers’ motivation and self-efficacy mediate their readiness to teach and the teacher–child relationship. Online questionnaires were administered to 289 early-childhood teachers in Shanghai, China. The findings of the study indicated a significant and positive correlation between early-childhood teachers’ readiness to teach and the quality of the teacher–child relationship. In addition, early-childhood teachers’ internal motivation to teach and self-efficacy mediated their readiness to teach and the teacher–child relationship, respectively. However, teachers’ external motivation did not mediate the effect of teaching readiness on the quality of the teacher–child relationship. Moreover, teachers’ motivation to teach (encompassing both internal and external factors) and their self-efficacy played chained roles in mediating the relationships between teaching readiness and the teacher–child relationship. This study highlights the significant roles of teaching readiness and instructional motivation, along with self-efficacy, in cultivating positive teacher–child relationships within early-childhood education settings.
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spelling doaj.art-b2ec868ae3804311a1acf87c6251ece62023-11-24T14:29:19ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-10-01131190010.3390/bs13110900Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-EfficacyHui Li0Wei Chen1Huihua He2Wenwei Luo3Shanghai Institution of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, ChinaShanghai Business School, College of International Education; Shanghai 200235, ChinaShanghai Institution of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, ChinaShanghai Institution of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, ChinaThe teacher–child relationship is a key element in measuring the quality of childcare institutions and is essential to the current and future physical and mental developmental outcomes of children. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of private preschool teachers’ readiness to teach in influencing the teacher–child relationship, and to explore the mechanisms by which teachers’ motivation and self-efficacy mediate their readiness to teach and the teacher–child relationship. Online questionnaires were administered to 289 early-childhood teachers in Shanghai, China. The findings of the study indicated a significant and positive correlation between early-childhood teachers’ readiness to teach and the quality of the teacher–child relationship. In addition, early-childhood teachers’ internal motivation to teach and self-efficacy mediated their readiness to teach and the teacher–child relationship, respectively. However, teachers’ external motivation did not mediate the effect of teaching readiness on the quality of the teacher–child relationship. Moreover, teachers’ motivation to teach (encompassing both internal and external factors) and their self-efficacy played chained roles in mediating the relationships between teaching readiness and the teacher–child relationship. This study highlights the significant roles of teaching readiness and instructional motivation, along with self-efficacy, in cultivating positive teacher–child relationships within early-childhood education settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/900private preschoolteaching readinessteacher–child relationshipmotivation to teachself-efficacy
spellingShingle Hui Li
Wei Chen
Huihua He
Wenwei Luo
Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy
Behavioral Sciences
private preschool
teaching readiness
teacher–child relationship
motivation to teach
self-efficacy
title Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy
title_full Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy
title_fullStr Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy
title_full_unstemmed Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy
title_short Chinese Private Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Readiness and Teacher–Child Relationships: The Chain Mediation Effects of Motivation to Teach and Self-Efficacy
title_sort chinese private preschool teachers teaching readiness and teacher child relationships the chain mediation effects of motivation to teach and self efficacy
topic private preschool
teaching readiness
teacher–child relationship
motivation to teach
self-efficacy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/900
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