The Influence of Social Support on Job Engagement--Evidence from Preschool Teachers in Beijing, China

Abstract

The  objectives  of  this  study  are  to  examine   1)  the   relationship  between  social  support  and  job engagement   of   preschool  teachers   in   Beijing,   2)  the   relationship   between   social  support   and professional commitment of  preschool teachers  in  Beijing, 3) the  relationship  between  professional commitment  and job  engagement  of  preschool teachers  in  Beijing,  and  4)  the  role  of  professional commitment in social support and job engagement of preschool teachers in Beijing. Under the guidance of quantitative research methodology, this study adopts an online questionnaire to conduct an empirical investigation.  In  the  context  of  preschool  education  institutions  in  Beijing,  China,  with  the  help  of administrators, colleagues, and friends of preschool education institutions, this study adopted a simple random  sampling  method to  conduct  a  questionnaire  survey  among  238  professional  kindergarten teachers in the top 10 preschool education institutions in Beijing, to obtain research data. The data were analyzed using data processing software, including descriptive statistical analysis, reliability and validity tests, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation model analysis. The main findings of this study are 1) social support is positively correlated with job engagement, 2) social support is positively correlated with professional commitment, 3) professional commitment is positively correlated with job engagement; and 4) professional commitment mediates between social support and job engagement. Based  on these findings, this  study  provides  a feasible  and  extensive  management framework  and provides effective  practical suggestions for  improving the job  engagement of teachers  in  preschool education institutions in Beijing.