SpringerLink
Log in

The influence of job satisfaction on the relationship between professional identity and burnout: A study of student teachers in Western China

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the literature concerning Chinese student teachers, there is little research regarding the relationship between job satisfaction, professional identity, and burnout. In the current study, 267 student teachers (aged 20 to 25 years, female 58.8%) from Western China completed surveys assessing the student teachers’ professional identity, job satisfaction, and burnout. Using structural equation models, results indicated that professional identity and job satisfaction could predict burnout, and the effect of professional identity on burnout was partially mediated by job satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction could significantly moderate the relationship between professional identity and burnout. These findings imply that professional identity and job satisfaction are critical indicators of burnout, and can be used in basic intervention strategies that decrease burnout among Western Chinese student teachers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 107–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brayfield, A. H., & Rothe, H. F. (1951). An index of job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 35, 307–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cano-Garcia, F. J., Padilla-Munoz, E. M., & Carrasco-Ortiz, M. A. (2005). Personality and contextual variables in teacher burnout. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 929–940.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canrinus, E. T., Helms-Lorenz, M., Beijaard, D., Buitink, J., & Hofman, A. (2012). Self-efficacy, job satisfaction, motivation and commitment: Exploring the relationships between indicators of teachers’ professional identity. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 27, 115–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capone, V., & Petrillo, G. (2018). Mental health in teachers: Relationships with job satisfaction, efficacy beliefs, burnout and depression. Current Psychology. Advance online publication.

  • Catherine, S., & Steve, D. (2000). An updated look at depressive symptoms and job satisfaction in first-year women teachers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73, 363–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, D. W. (2003). Hardiness and its role in the stress–burnout relationship among prospective Chinese teachers in Hong Kong. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 381–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherniss, C. (1980). Professional burnout in human service organizations. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deng, L., Zhu, G., Li, G., Xu, Z., Rutter, A., & Rivera, H. (2018). Student teachers’ emotions, dilemmas, and professional identity formation amid the teaching practicums. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27, 441–453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fives, H., Hamman, D., & Olivarez, A. (2007). Does burnout begin with student-teaching? Analyzing efficacy, burnout, and support during the student-teaching semester. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 916–934.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frye, N. K., & Breaugh, J. A. (2004). Family-friendly policies, supervisor support, work family conflict, family work conflict, and satisfaction: A test of a conceptual model. Journal of Business and Psychology, 19, 197–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gouleta, L. R., & Singhb, P. (2002). Career commitment: A reexamination and an extension. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61, 73–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayon, K. L., Faraj, H., & Wubbels, T. (2002). Burnout among Israeli Arab school principals as a function of professional identity and interpersonal relationships with teachers. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 5, 149–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoigaard, R., Giske, R., & Sundsli, K. (2012). Newly qualified teachers’ work engagement and teacher efficacy influences on job satisfaction, burnout, and the intention to quit. European Journal of Teacher Education, 35, 347–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hultell, D., & Gustavsson, J. P. (2011). Factors affecting burnout and work engagement in teachers when entering employment. Work, 40, 85–98.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ilies, R., & Judge, T. A. (2004). An experience-sampling measure of job satisfaction and its relationship with affectivity, mood at work, job beliefs, and general job satisfaction. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 13, 367–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Izadinia, M. (2015). A closer look at the role of mentor teachers in sha** preservice teachers' professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 52, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. (2017). Develo** pre-professional identity in undergraduates through work-integrated learning. Higher Education, 74, 833–853.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, B. W. (2010). Job satisfaction, self-efficacy, burnout, and path of teacher certification: Predictors of attrition in special education teachers. Capella University.

  • Kelley, L. M. (2004). Why induction matters. Journal of Teacher Education, 55, 438–448.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klassen, R. M., & Durksen, T. L. (2014). Weekly self-efficacy and work stress during the teaching practicum: A mixed methods study. Learning and Instruction, 33, 158–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, A. G., & Moosbrugger, H. (2000). Maximum likelihood estimation of latent interaction effects with the LMS method. Psychometrika, 65, 457–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kokkinos, C. M., & Stavropoulos, G. (2014). Burning out during the practicum: The case of teacher trainees. Educational Psychology, 36, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, E. G., Qureshi, H., Frank, J., Klahm, C., & Smith, B. (2018). Job stress, job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment and their associations with job burnout among Indian police officers: A research note. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 22, 85–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landis, R. S., Beal, D. J., & Tesluk, P. E. (2000). A comparison of approaches to forming composite measures in structural equation models. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 186–207.

  • Lee, R. T., & Ashforth, B. E. (1996). A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 123–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. (2005). Study on job burnout across three occupational samples: An integrity perspective. East China Normal University.

  • Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 151–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, S., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2014). Teachers’ motivation for entering the teaching profession and their job satisfaction: A cross-cultural comparison of China and other countries. Learning Environments Research, 17, 75–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Losano, L., Fiorentini, D., & Villarreal, M. (2018). The development of a mathematics teacher’s professional identity during her first year teaching. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 21, 287–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahmoudi-Gahrouei, V., Tavakoli, M., & Hamman, D. (2016). Understanding what is possible across a career: Professional identity development beyond transition to teaching. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17, 581–597.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malinen, O., & Savolainen, H. (2016). The effect of perceived school climate and teacher efficacy in behavior management on job satisfaction and burnout: A longitudinal study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 60, 144–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2, 99–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslowsky, J., Jager, J., & Hemken, D. (2015). Estimating and interpreting latent variable interactions: A tutorial for applying the latent moderated structural equation. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39, 87–96.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • May, R. W., Seibert, G. S., Sanchez-Gonzalez, M. A., & Fincham, F. D. (2016). Physiology of school burnout in medical students: Hemodynamic and autonomic functioning. Burnout Research, 3, 63–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, C. P., Harris, J. N., Hochwarter, W. A., Perrewé, P. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2017). Got resources? A multi-sample constructive replication of perceived resource availability’s role in work passion–job outcomes relationships. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32, 147–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLean, L., Taylor, M., & Jimenez, M. (2019). Career choice motivations in teacher training as predictors of burnout and career optimism in the first year of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 85, 204–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mechteld, R. M. V., Ellen, M. A. S., & Frans, J. O. (2003). Stress, satisfaction and burnout among Dutch medical specialists. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 168, 271–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, M., & Hofman, J. E. (1988). Professional identity in institutions of higher learning in Israel. Higher Education, 17, 69–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadelson, L. S., McGuire, S. P., Davis, K. A., Farid, A., Hardy, K. K., Hsu, Y., et al. (2017). Am I a STEM professional? Documenting STEM student professional identity development. Studies in Higher Education, 42, 701–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, P. A., & Kulik, J. A. (1995). Burnout, self and supervisor-rated job performance, and absenteeism among nurses. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 581–599.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pogere, E. F., López-Sangil, M. C., García-Señorán, M. M., & González, A. (2019). Teachers’ job stressors and co** strategies: Their structural relationships with emotional exhaustion and autonomy support. Teaching and Teacher Education, 85, 269–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potměšilová, P. (2014). Supervize v podmínkáchspeciálníhovzdělávání: Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci.

  • Rahabav, P. (2016). The effectiveness of academic supervision for teachers. Journal of Education and Practice, 7, 47–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichl, C., Wach, F. S., Spinath, F. M., Brünken, R., & Karbach, J. (2014). Burnout risk among first-year teacher students: The roles of personality and motivation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85, 85–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruohotie-Lyhty, M., & Moate, J. (2016). Who and how? Preservice teachers as active agents develo** professional identities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 318–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K., Rantanen, J., Hyvönen, K., Tilleman, K., & Feldt, T. (2011). Bergen burnout inventory: Reliability and validity among Finnish and Estonian managers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 84, 635–645.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sardeshmukh, S. R., & Vandenberg, R. J. (2017). Integrating moderation and mediation: A structural equation modeling approach. Organizational Research Methods, 20, 721–745.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sariçam, H., & Sakiz, H. (2014). Burnout and teacher self-efficacy among teachers working in special education institutions in Turkey. Educational Studies, 40, 423–437.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2009). Does school context matter? Relations with teacher burnout and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 518–524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Struyven, K., & Vanthournout, G. (2014). Teachers’ exit decisions: An investigation into the reasons why newly qualified teachers fail to enter the teaching profession or why those who do enter do not continue teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 37–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, L., & Markauskaite, L. (2012). Examining the role of authenticity in supporting the development of professional identity: An example from teacher education. Higher Education, 64, 747–766.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M., McLean, L., Bryce, C. I., Abry, T., & Granger, K. L. (2019). The influence of multiple life stressors during teacher training on burnout and career optimism in the first year of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, 102910.

    Google Scholar 

  • Troesch, L. M., & Bauer, C. E. (2017). Second career teachers: Job satisfaction, job stress, and the role of self-efficacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 389–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Väisänen, S., Pietarinen, J., Pyhältö, K., Toom, A., & Soini, T. (2017). Student teachers’ proactive strategies and experienced learning environment for reducing study-related burnout. Journal of Education and Learning, 7, 208–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Droogenbroeck, F., & Spruyt, B. (2015). Do teachers have worse mental health? Review of the existing comparative research and results from the Belgian health interview survey. Teaching and Teacher Education, 51, 88–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanden, B. R. (2002). Teacher's meanings regarding educational practice. Educational Research Review, 72, 577–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., & Du, X. (2014). Chinese teachers’ professional identity and beliefs about the teacher-student relationships in an intercultural context. Frontiers of Education in China, 9, 429–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei, S. (2008). A research on teachers' professional identity. Southwest University.

  • Wen, Z., Hau, K., & Marsh, H. W. (2004). Structural equation model testing: Cutoff criteria for goodness of fit indices and chi-square test. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 36, 186–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, C., Nay, S., & Hoyle, R. H. (2010). Three approaches to using lengthy ordinal scales in structural equation models: Parceling, latent scoring, and shortening scales. Applied Psychological Measurement, 43, 122–142.

  • Zhai, Q., Lindorff, M., & Cooper, B. (2013). Workplace Guanxi: Its dispositional antecedents and mediating role in the affectivity–job satisfaction relationship. Journal of Business Ethics, 117, 541–551.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Bay Area Education Policy Institute for Social Development, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Ming-Hui Lu

  2. School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, People’s Republic of China

    Jie Luo & Wei Chen

  3. School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Meng-Cheng Wang

Authors
  1. Ming-Hui Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jie Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wei Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Meng-Cheng Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jie Luo.

Ethics declarations

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lu, MH., Luo, J., Chen, W. et al. The influence of job satisfaction on the relationship between professional identity and burnout: A study of student teachers in Western China. Curr Psychol 41, 289–297 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00565-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00565-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation