Influence of occupational identity on work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens: the chain-mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy

Influence of occupational identity on work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens: the chain-mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Influence of occupational identity on work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens: the chain-mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy Boqiong Tian, Huan Kuang, Renhong Shen, Liang Fan, Siyan Wan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7220242/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Public kindergartens are crucial for the universal accessibility and high-quality development of preschool education in China, with non-staff teachers serving as the driving force of teaching. The level of non-staff teachers’ work engagement directly impacts the quality of education and the development of children, eventually affecting the realization of these goals. Drawing from social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, this study surveyed 429 non-staff teachers in public kindergartens in China. The survey was conducted using the Occupational Identity Questionnaire for Non-Staff Teachers, the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, the Teaching Efficacy Scale, and the Work Engagement Questionnaire. Key findings are as follows: (1) The occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens exhibit significant positive correlations. (2) Occupational identity serves as both a direct and an indirect predictor of work engagement, with perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy playing a chain-mediating role in the relation between occupational identity and work engagement. These findings suggest that the level of work engagement among non-staff teachers in public kindergartens can be increased by enhancing occupational identity, perceived organizational support, and teaching efficacy. This study provides valuable insights for addressing the identity differentiation of teachers in a dual employment system and reforming the hiring system of preschool teachers, contributing to a more equitable and high-quality development of preschool education in China and worldwide. Social science/Education Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology occupational identity work engagement perceived organizational support teaching efficacy non-staff teachers in public kindergartens Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 1 Introduction Internationally, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 (SDG 4.2), the United Nations emphasizes “Equal Access to Quality Preschool,” underscoring the commitment to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education by 2030(Rad et al.,2022). Developing high-quality and universal early childhood education has become a shared goal globally, and preschool teachers are a critical factor in achieving this goal. However, preschool teachers often have low salaries and inadequate benefits, coupled with burdensome workloads and high demands, which prevent them from fully and enthusiastically engaging themselves in their work (Whitebook et al.,2018,Grant et al.,2019). In recent years, the issue of high turnover rates and occupational burnout among them has become increasingly severe (Jeon et al.,2018,Lee and Quek,2018 ), particularly in East Asian countries (Yang et al.,2018), posing challenges to the stability and professional development of kindergarten teachers. This, in turn, impacts the progress toward establishing quality and universal early childhood education. With the advancement of positive psychology, the concept of “work engagement”, which focuses on individual positive factors and intrinsic motivation, has gained attention as a counterpart to occupational burnout (Macey and Schneider,2008,Chen et al.,2018). Consequently, identifying factors that contribute to work engagement among early childhood educators has emerged as a significant research focus (Lipscomb et al.,2022). Studies have shown that work engagement has a positive influence on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and mental health among kindergarten teachers, while a negative impact on burnout and turnover intentions (Wang and Qin ,2015,Buri and Macuka,2018). Increasing work engagement among early childhood educators can help them better cope with work challenges (Nislin et al.,2016), thus improve their job performance (Bakker and Bal,2010) and, ultimately, a higher quality early childhood education (Zang and Feng ,2023). While the Chinese government, in its 2019 initiative “China’s Education Modernization 2035”, outlined the goal of “popularizing quality preschool education, continuously improving the management, operating, and funding systems for preschool education, and vigorously developing public kindergartens.” In China, preschool institutions are institutionally categorized into public and private institutions based on their operational entities and funding sources. Public kindergartens are administered and funded by education administrative departments using state financial resources. In contrast, private kindergartens are established by legally recognized enterprises and institutions, social organizations, and individuals, primarily relying on non-state financial resources for their operations. Public kindergartens serve as the pillar of universal preschool education in China, playing a crucial role in promoting more equitable access to quality early childhood education. They also guide the direction of development, stabilize prices and ensure educational quality (Chen,2022). Currently, the teaching staff in public kindergartens in China comprises both staff and non-staff teachers. The former are recruited primarily through institutional examinations and public teacher recruitment processes, with compensation fully subsidized by state allocations. Conversely, non-staff teachers constitute a distinct employment category originally conceived to address staffing deficits. These non-staff teachers are hired by public kindergartens as independent legal entities, following specific recruitment procedures, and are employed privately without being paid by the government. Their salaries are jointly paid by relevant departments and the public kindergartens. By the end of 2021, the total number of full-time teachers in public kindergartens in China was 1.471 million, of which 835,000 are non-staff teachers, accounting for 56.8% of the total ( Education Statistics Data,2021). Furthermore, under the current policy in which the staffing and personnel numbers for public institutions are “only reducing rather than increasing”(Ji and Wang,2023) ,local governments face significant challenges in meeting the staffing needs of public kindergartens. As a result, many public kindergartens are increasingly employing non-staff teachers to address the shortage of educators, the non-staff teachers constitute a majority of the teaching workforce in public kindergartens in China. The non-staff teachers’ numbers, stability, and Work performance have a significant impact on the accessibility and quality of preschool education in China. Notably, declining work engagement among this cohort in public kindergartens has emerged as a significant concern. Paradoxically, although governmental policies mandate pay equity with staff teachers, most non-staff teachers receive remuneration at the lowest decile, resulting in substantial disparities in compensation and social security provisions(Ji and Wang,2023).Alongside the deepening of institutional reform and the recent trend of kindergarten closures due to low birth rates, the problems such as remuneration, occupational identity, and career development faced by the non-staff teachers have become increasingly intricate. This further led to their psychological imbalance, decreased work enthusiasm, and even decisions to quit the profession (Zhang,2023). Some studies have indicated that non-staff teachers generate less performance relative to staff teachers, which negatively impacts on organizational efficiency (Kong,2012). Influenced by their relatively lower occupational identity, non-staff teachers in public kindergartens show an overall low occupational satisfaction, diminished occupational will, and weak professional determination (Wang,2016), resulting in a low work engagement. Given children’s high attachment to teachers, their work engagement will directly influence their retention rates, happiness, and the high-quality interactions (Shannon et al.,2022) supporting children’s development, subsequently affecting the quality of childcare and the physical and mental development of young children. Therefore, exploring how perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy influence the work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens through occupational identity is crucial for the reform of preschool teacher hiring and the stability of the preschool teachers in China and beyond, and for facilitating more inclusive and high-quality early childhood education development. 1.1 Occupational Identity and Work Engagement Work engagement, initially conceptualized by Professor Kahn at Boston University in the United States. He posited that work engagement is the continuous integration of an individual with his work role. Through ongoing recognition and experience of the actual work role, individuals effectively adjust themselves in terms of physiology, emotions, and other aspects to enhance their competence in their work role (Kahn,1990). Work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption (Wilmar et al.,2002). For kindergarten teachers, work engagement entails maintaining a positive affective states at work, experiencing the value of their work, assuming responsibility, and sustaining a focused work state (Wilmar et al.,2002). It serves as a key indicator of the quality of teachers’ professional lives, which being modulated by personal traits, work contexts (Nislin et al.,2016), and their combined influences (Rabinowitz and Hall,1977). Previous research indicated that work engagement positively impacts kindergarten teachers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and mental well-being (Buri and Macuka,2018), while negatively affects job burnout and intentions to leave (Wang and Qin,2015), resulting in better job performance (Nislin et al.,2016). Occupational identity of kindergarten teachers manifests as their internalized acceptance of the early childhood education profession, and a conscious dedication to serving the early childhood education industry (Tan,2009). Occupational identity, as an intrinsic driving force for teachers, is a crucial positive cognitive variable that reduces turnover intentions and mitigates risks in career development (Tang and Wang,2019). Strong occupational identity motivates teachers to fully engage in their work, experience feeling of happiness, accomplishment, and value, thus reducing turnover rates and inspiring proactive enhancement of professional abilities (Colliander,2018;Nickel and Crosby,2022). Studies indicated that the overall occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens is generally moderate (Fu,2018) to low (Ding,2014), which is lower than that of staff teachers in public kindergartens (Jiang,2021). A high level of occupational identity is closely linked to the positive work status of kindergarten teachers. Individuals with high occupational identity often exhibit higher job satisfaction (Wang,2013), better teacher-parent relationships (Guo,2023), greater psychological capital (Gao,2021), and increased levels of work engagement (Chen and Guo,2023). Therefore, occupational identity directly influences the work engagement of kindergarten teachers (Gao,2021), with work engagement being a immediate downstream variable of occupational identity (Chen and Wu,2018). Consequently, this study posits the hypothesis 1: The occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens significantly positively predicts their work engagement. 1.2 Perceived Organizational Support as a Mediator between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement Perceived organizational support (POS) conceptualized by Eisenberger et al. in 1986 based on social exchange theory, reflects individuals’ comprehensive perception of the organization’s recognition of their contributions and concern for their well-being (Eisenberger et al.,1986). However, studies have found that non-staff teachers in public kindergartens in China get less support from their organizations (Hong et al.,2021). Research also shown that a strong sense of organizational support can meet teachers’ social and emotional needs, making them feel rewarded for their efforts by the organization. This will increase their occupational well-being and competence (Wang and Liu,2018), leading to increased dedication and effort towards organizational interests (Wang and Xu,2008). Perceived organizational support significantly and positively predicts work engagement (Zou and Yin,2017;Guan,2021) and career success (Xu et al.,2025). Moreover, perceived organizational support can also act as a mediating variable influencing early childhood teachers in various ways: partially mediating between work-family conflict and career success (Xu et al.,2024), partially mediating between professional vision and work engagement (Zhou et al.,2023), and mediating between job crafting and turnover intentions (Zhao,2021). Therefore, this study posited that perceived organizational support played a mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. When they recognized the significance and value of their roles, they would increase their levels of occupational identity, adopted a more positive view of people and events in the organizational environment, thus fostering a higher level of perceived organizational support (Wang et al.,2020). Specifically, those with high levels of occupational identity can regulate their internal cognitive systems, and have a higher sense of organizational support.Based on this, we posit Research Hypothesis 2: Perceived organizational support plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement. 1.3 Teaching Efficacy as a Mediator between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement Teaching efficacy is the application and development of the self-efficacy theory in the field of education. The concept of teaching efficacy among teachers, rooted in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (Tschannen-Moran and Hoy,2001), refers to teachers’ beliefs in their capabilities to effectively execute instructional tasks and achieve educational objectives (Liu and Dan,2019). Previous researches, based on social cognitive theory, have illustrated how teaching efficacy and individuals’ positive psychological states are shaped, suggesting that teaching efficacy influences individuals’ cognition, emotions, and motivation, and ultimately serve as a motivational mechanism for work engagement (Schaufeli,2012). Teaching efficacy can impact various aspects of a teacher’s professional life, including work motivation, job satisfaction, occupational well-being (Chen et al.,2023), attitudes and behaviors towards teaching practices, work engagement (Chen et al.2022;Wang et al.,2022). The perception of teaching efficacy among early childhood educators is influenced by personal characteristics (Ferreira et al.,2024), work experience (Von et al.,2018), and the kindergarten environment (Zeng,2023).Preschool teachers with high teaching efficacy typically demonstrate superior performance in fulfilling their teaching responsibilities (Ferreira et al.,2021). Studies have also indicated that teaching efficacy among preschool teachers partially mediates the relationship between their occupational identity and occupational burnout (Xu,2021), as well as significantly mediates the influence of occupational identity on work engagement (Zhu and Zhang,2023). According to the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), self-efficacy is an important influencing factor of job burnout (Alarcon et al.,2009) and holds significant importance for the self - regulation and enhancement of work engagement (Guo and Yang,2021). As an extension of this construct in teacher research, teaching efficacy substantially predicts educators' work engagement. Based on this, this study proposes Research Hypothesis 3: Teaching efficacy plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement. 1.4 The Chain Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Teaching Efficacy between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement Teaching efficacy exhibits significant correlations to both objective and subjective support. Perceived organizational support is significantly positively correlated with teaching efficacy among teachers (Zhang and Mao,2022;Xiao et al.,2024). The psychological and behavioral aspects of teachers are directly influenced by the teaching resources, teaching environment, and organizational atmosphere provided by the school, which can lead to a stronger connection between teachers and their organizations. This support and resources instill greater confidence in teachers’ own value and abilities, enabling them to demonstrate superior work capabilities ( Li et al.,2017). Currently, there is a lack of direct research on the chain mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy in the impact of occupational identity on work engagement. However, related studies provided certain support. Previous studies have indicated that perceived organizational support plays a mediating role in the relationship between teacher efficacy and self-efficacy (Jaafar and Lailia,2019). Teaching efficacy and self-leadership also mediate the relationship between occupational identification and career adaptability of pre-service kindergarten teachers (Qiao et al.,2022). Furthermore, teaching efficacy and job satisfaction play a chain mediating role in the impact of occupational identity on work engagement among kindergarten teachers (Zhu and Zhang,2023). According to the JD-R model, the richer the resources an individual acquires of the job, the more inclined they are to exhibit positive work behaviors, leading to improvements in work efficiency and performance (Bakker et al.,2003). Perceived organizational support belongs to the category of work resources. The more support the organization provides to preschool teachers, the higher the degree of Perceived organizational support they perceive (Yang,2024), which can stimulate the intrinsic motivation of individuals to construct teaching efficacy, ultimately enhancing their work engagement levels (Dong,2022). This suggests that high occupational identity among non-staff teachers in public kindergartens positively influences individuals’ cognition, emotions, and motivation, enhancing their level of perceived organizational support and belief in their own abilities, thereby increasing their work engagement. Based on this, this study puts forward research hypothesis 4: Perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy play a chain mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement. 1.5 The current study In conclusion, substantial of research has been conducted on the work engagement of preschool teachers, but there is still a need for further in-depth exploration into the factors and mechanisms that influence their work engagement. Additionally, the non-staff teachers in public kindergartens have received relatively few attentions in existing research. While occupational identity has received fragmented scholarly attention, there is a lack of research on the mechanism in which how occupational identity, teaching efficacy, and perceived organizational support affect work engagement. Analyzing the mechanism can not only offer new perspectives for internalizing of occupational identity, integrating perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy, to enhance autonomous work engagement, but also provide a scientific basis for professional development and personnel training for such teachers. Such insights could expand scholarly discourse while improving early childhood education quality. Based on the social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, and in light of existing research, elaborate on the interrelationships among preschool teachers' professional identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement, we propose the following hypotheses and will test them through a chain mediating model (see Fig. 1 ): H1: The occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens significantly positively predicts their work engagement. H2: Perceived organizational support plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement. H3: Teaching efficacy plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement. H4: Perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy play a chain mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement. 2 Methods 2.1 Participants Convenience sampling of 436 non-staff teachers was recruited from 16 public kindergartens in Chongqing and Sichuan of China. After excluding invalid ones with such as random responses, excessive missing answers, and contradictory choices, 429 valid questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 98.4%. The basic information of participants is shown in Table 1 . This research design and procedures rigorously adhered to the principles of informed consent, confidentiality, and the avoidance of harm. A detailed informed consent letter outlining the research purpose was provided to all prospective participants. Only upon providing written consent were participants subsequently presented with the research instruments and invited to provide responses. Furthermore, formal ethical approval for this research was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee) at the researcher's host institution. Table 1 Demographics of the participants ( N = 429) Characteristics Categories N (%) Characteristics Categories N (%) Gender Male 48 11.2 Professional title Not assessed 291 67.8 Female 381 88.8 Elementary teacher level three 31 7.2 Insurance Insurance 198 46.2 Elementary teacher level two 49 11.4 no insurance 106 24.7 Elementary teacher level one 28 6.5 other forms 125 29.1 Senior elementary teacher 8 1.9 Age 25 and below 118 27.5 Other 22 5.1 26–35 195 45.5 Teaching age 10 years 104 24.2 highest education Technical secondary school ( high school ) and below 66 15.4 level of kindergarten Unrated 153 35.7 Junior college 197 45.9 Third-tier Kindergarten 48 11.2 Undergraduate 148 34.5 Second-tier Kindergarten 68 15.9 Graduate student 18 4.2 First-tier Kindergarten 76 17.7 Demonstration Kindergarten 84 19.6 2.2Measures 2.2.1 Occupational Identity for Non-staff Teachers in Public Kindergartens Questionnaire The study used the Occupational Identity Scale for non-staff teachers in public kindergartens prepared by Tian et al . (Tian et al.,2020) The scale comprises 26 items, including four subscales of role values, professional behavior tendency, professional values and professional sense of belonging. It is evaluated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1 for “completely disagreement” and 5 for “completely agreement”. In this study, the Cronbach’s Alpha is 0.93. 2.2.2 Perceived organizational support for non-staff teachers in public kindergartens questionnaire This study adapts the Perceived Organizational Support Scale compiled by Chen et al (Chen,2006). The scale comprises 17 items, including four subscales of superior support, colleague support, emotional organizational support and instrumental organizational support. The scale is rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1 for “completely disagreement” and 5 for “completely agreement”. On this basis, this study adds an item that reflects the instrumental organizational support of non-staff teachers ' We have equal pay for non-staff teachers and staff teachers in our kindergarten' . The Cronbach’s Alpha of the scale is 0.96. 2.2.3 Teaching efficacy for preschool teachers questionnaire The Preschool Teachers’ Teaching Efficacy Scale used in this study was prepared by Zhao (Chen,2007). The scale comprises 28 items, including two subscales of preschool teachers’ general teaching efficacy and personal teaching efficacy. It is evaluated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with elevated scores indicating greater levels of teaching efficacy. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of the scale in this study is 0.82. 2.2.4 Work engagement for preschool teachers questionnaire The study uses the Kindergarten Teacher Work Engagement Scale revised by Wang et al (Wang and Qin,2015). The scale comprises 22 items, including four subscales of work enjoyment, work values, work responsibilities and work focus. It is evaluated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with higher scores indicating greater levels of work engagement. In this study, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for this questionnaire is 0.95. 2.3 Research procedures and data processing Upon collecting the questionnaires, the researcher inputted all the data and conducted data analysis by using SPSS 22.0 and the PROCESS program developed by Hayes. This program facilitates efficient analysis of various mediating models, moderating models, and their combinations, enabling direct examination of the existence of mediating effects. In this study, the PROCESS program’s Model 4 and Model 6 were utilized. The analysis employed a bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method with 5000 repeated samples to calculate a 95% confidence interval (CI) for testing both mediating effects and moderated mediating effects (p < 0.05) ( Fang et al.,2014 ) . 3 Research Results 3.1 Common Method Bias Test Four questionnaires are used to measure the same respondents, which may raise concerns about common method bias stemming from self-reported data. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a test for common method bias for the data. The study primarily employed the Harman’s single-factor test, which involves subjecting all items from the four questionnaires to exploratory factor analysis. The un-rotated PCA yielded 12 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 collectively. The first factor explained 33.43% of the variance, below the critical standard of 40% (Podsakoff et al.,2003). Hence, the common method bias in this study is considered not severe. 3.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis The study found that non-staff teachers in public kindergartens scored high in occupational identity (M = 4.10, SD = 0.62), moderately high in perceived organizational support (M = 3.82, SD = 0.83), moderate in teaching efficacy (M = 3.19, SD = 0.39), and moderately high in work engagement (M = 3.82, SD = 0.75). Correlation analysis was conducted among occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Significant positive correlations were observed between these variables. Occupational identity shown significant positive correlations with perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement (r = 0.477**, r = 0.234**, r = 0.604**). Perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement also displayed significant positive correlations (r = 0.244**, r = 0.692**). Additionally, teaching efficacy and work engagement were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.312**). These correlation analysis results lay the foundation for further exploration of the relationships between the aforementioned variables. Refer to Table 2 for specific data. Table 2 Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis (N = 429) M SD 1 2 3 4 1.occupational identity 4.10 0.62 1 2.perceived organizational support 3.82 0.83 0.477** 1 3.teaching efficacy 3.19 0.39 0.234** 0.244** 1 4.work engagement 3.82 0.75 0.604** 0.692** 0.312** 1 **p<0.01 3.3 The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Teaching Efficacy between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement of Non-Staff Teachers in Public Kindergartens It was found through analysis that there is a significant correlation among the variables of perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, occupational identity, and work engagement, meeting the requirements for testing mediation effects. To further explore the relationships among these four variables, the SPSS macro-PROCESS model 16 was employed. Taking occupational identity as the independent variable, work engagement as the dependent variable, and perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy as mediating variables, the study tested the multiple mediating effects among these variables after controlling of gender, age, professional title, major, years of teaching experience, kindergarten level, and insurance status. The results of the mediation analysis are presented in Fig. 2 . The direct path from occupational identity to work engagement was significant (β = 0.333, P < 0.001), confirming hypothesis 1 is valid. The direct paths from occupational identity to perceived organizational support (β = 0.603, P < 0.001) and from perceived organizational support to work engagement (β = 0.460, P < 0.001) were also significant, indicating the mediating role of perceived organizational support between occupational identity and work engagement, thus hypothesis 2 is valid. Furthermore, the direct paths from occupational identity to teaching efficacy (β = 0.090, P < 0.01) and from teaching efficacy to work engagement (β = 0.183, P < 0.01) were significant, demonstrating the mediating role of teaching efficacy between occupational identity and work engagement, supporting hypothesis 3 is valid. Additionally, the direct path from perceived organizational support to teaching efficacy was significant (β = 0.071, P < 0.01), indicating the presence of a chained mediation effect, supporting hypothesis 4 is valid too. See Table 3 for detailed regression analysis results. Table 3 Regression analysis between variables Outcome variable Predictor variable β t R R² F perceived organizational support occupational identity 0.603 10.254 *** 0.548 0.30 25.793 *** teaching efficacy occupational identity 0.090 2.593 ** 0.315 0.099 5.780 *** perceived organizational support 0.071 2.766 ** work engagement occupational identity 0.333 7.652 *** 0.796 0.634 80.533 *** perceived organizational support 0.460 14.213 *** teaching efficacy 0.183 3.023 ** To further examine the multiple mediating effects among the variables, a bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method was employed, setting 5000 repetitions of random sampling. When the Bootstrap 95% confidence interval of each path coefficient does not include zero, it indicates a significant path effect (Hayes,2017). As shown in Table 4 , it was observed that the direct effect of occupational identity on work engagement, the mediating effect of perceived organizational support between occupational identity and work engagement, the mediating effect of teaching efficacy between occupational identity and work engagement, as well as the chained mediating effect of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy, all reached a significant level. The direct effect accounted for 52.44% of the total effect, the mediating effect of perceived organizational support accounted for 43.62% of the total effect, the mediating effect of teaching efficacy accounted for 2.68% of the total effect, and the chained mediating effect of teaching efficacy and perceived organizational support accounted for 1.26% of the total effect. The overall indirect effect ratio was 47.56%. This indicates that the direct path between occupational identity and work engagement, as well as the indirect paths with perceived organizational support as a mediating variable, teaching efficacy as a mediating variable, and both perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy as mediating variables, were all significant. Table 4 The effect size of teaching efficacy and perceived organizational support Pathways Effect BootSE BootLLCL BootULCL Percentage Occupational identity→ Perceived organizational support→ Work engagement 0.277 0.04 0.202 0.359 43.62% Occupational identity→ Teaching efficacy→ Work engagement 0.017 0.009 0.003 0.037 2.68% Occupational identity→ Perceived organizational support→ Teaching efficacy→ Work engagement 0.008 0.003 0.002 0.015 1.26% Direct effect 0.333 0.044 0.248 0.419 52.44% indirect effect 0.302 0.041 0.225 0.385 47.56% Total effect 0.635 0.048 0.541 0.729 100% 4 Discussion The study delved into the working mechanisms in which how the occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens influences work engagement. The findings revealed that four pathways by which occupational identity impacts work engagement: (1) a direct positive predictive effect of occupational identity on work engagement; (2) the influence of occupational identity on work engagement mediated by perceived organizational support; (3) the influence of occupational identity on work engagement mediated by teaching efficacy; (4) the impact of occupational identity on work engagement through the sequential mediation of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy. 4.1 Impact of Occupational Identity on Work Engagement The results demonstrated that the direct effect of occupational identity on work engagement constitutes more than 50% of the total effect, underscoring the pivotal role of occupational identity as a protective factor for work engagement. This finding is consistent with prior researches, indicating that a higher level of occupational identity significantly and positively forecasts the work engagement of kindergarten teachers (Wang et al.,2021;Zhu and Zhang,2023). Several factors may account for this relationship: Occupational identity, being rooted in cognition, reflects an individual’s cognitive and emotional connection to their profession, highlighting his passion and endorsement of his career. Work engagement, on the other hand, pertains to behavior, emphasizing the proactive state of individuals integrating their professional roles into their work. Individual cognitive levels and styles directly shape their behaviors and choices. Therefore, there must be a link between occupational identity and work engagement. Occupational identity empowers non-staff teachers in kindergartens to view work not just as a means of livelihood but also as an integration of sense,value, and career objectives, propelling them to invest more time and effort enthusiastically in their roles. Moreover, in line with social identity theory, a robust occupational identity imbues individuals with a sense of professional purpose, mission, and honor, and motivates them to dedicate their resources, energy, and time to their roles. Such identity fosters loyalty and passion towards the educational cause among non-staff teachers in kindergartens, drives motivation and aspiration of self-dedication, and tightly intertwines career objectives and capability advancements with the educational domain, thereby heightening the work engagement levels of kindergarten teachers (Jiang,2019). Furthermore, a high occupational identity can bring positive emotional experiences like joy, contentment, and happiness in non-staff teachers in kindergartens, facilitating the integration of professional emotions into their work processes, thus escalating the intrinsic motivation for work engagement. 4.2 The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support in the Impact of Occupational Identity on Work Engagement This study indicates that perceived organizational supportplays a mediating role)between occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. With the mediating effect of this pathway constituting a significant proportion of the total effect, it is a crucial mediating variable influencing their work engagement. This finding is aligns with the existing researches showing that organizational support among early childhood educators partially mediates the relationship between their professional vision and work engagement (Zhou et al.,2023). Possible reasons for this include:Firstly, perceived organizational support serves as a vital positive psychological resource, providing continual emotional and mental backing in the workplace. Although triggered by the kindergarten’s organizational environment, it remains a subjective perception of the teachers. Occupational identity reflects an individual’s positive internal beliefs, and non-staff teachers in kindergartens exhibit varying degrees of organizational belongingness in interactions with the kindergarten environment and others due to differences in their occupational identity levels. In case of a higher occupational identity, they develop a positive view of the people and events within the institution, leading to a higher sense of organizational support. Moreover, teachers with high levels of occupational identity can regulate their internal cognitive systems and have an increased perceived organizational support, which can buffers the impact of staffing issues on their occupational identity. This aligns with existing researches that explain how occupational identity, using social identity theory, can positively predict organizational identification (Zhang et al.,2013). Secondly, according to social support theory, the provision of material, emotional, and professional support by kindergartens can influence the professional emotions, behaviors, and action intentions of early childhood educators. When they perceive a strong organizational support, their positive work attitudes and behaviors are enhanced (Suo et al.,2024). Therefore, teacher’s organizational support emerges as a crucial variable in explaining work engagement (Sun et al.,2015). Perceived organizational support strengthens emotional commitment and psychological belongingness between teachers and their organization. This will help generate positive emotions such as gratitude and joy, thus stimulating work motivation, and enhancing work engagement (Chen et al.,2023). This also validates the social exchange theory; due to recent national initiatives to safeguard “equal pay for equal work” and professional development rights for non-staff teachers in kindergartens, teachers who perceive organizational support are more willing to engage in their work. Consequently, the higher the occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens, the higher their perceived organizational support, emotional commitment, and work engagement. 4.3 The Mediating Role of Teaching Efficacy in the Influence of Occupational Identity on Work Engagement This study indicates that teaching efficacy plays a mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Although the mediating effect constitutes a relatively small proportion of the total effect, it still underscores its importance in the process of how occupational identity influences work engagement. This finding aligns with existing researches that suggest a positive correlation between teaching efficacy and work engagement among kindergarten teachers (Zhu and Zhang,2023), and its close association with occupational identity and levels of occupational burnout (Xu,2021). Possible reasons include: Firstly, based on the Job Demands-Resources model of work engagement, self-efficacy is a crucial influencing factor in work engagement, holding significant relevance in self-regulation and enhancement for work engagement. As an extension in teacher research, teaching efficacy plays an important predictive role in teachers’ work engagement, and actively promotes their work engagement (Guo and Yang,2021). Non-staff teachers in public kindergartens with strong teaching efficacy, even when faced with low wages and high work intensity, tend to invest considerable time and effort to achieve good job performance. Experiences of achieving work objectives further enhance their teaching efficacy, forming a virtuous cycle of “high teaching efficacy – high work engagement – even higher teaching efficacy.” Therefore, teaching efficacy positively predicts their work engagement. Secondly, teaching efficacy represents teachers’ subjective judgments on general teaching relationships and functions, built upon a certain occupational psychological foundation. Occupational identity is the internalized holistic understanding by teachers of relatively balanced and stable core elements of their profession, and an objective condition for establishing a professional psychological foundation. Occupational identity not only influences how teachers utilize resources to solve their own dilemmas but also impacts their motivation, efficacy perceptions, occupational burnout, and job satisfaction (Gu and Day,2007). Relevant studies also indicate that enhancing occupational identity has positive implications for increasing teaching efficacy (Xie et al.,2017). The higher the occupational identity level of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens, the more they will accept their professional roles, and the more they will effectively utilize work resources to enhance their professional competence and confidence. In such way, they will strengthen their belief and determination in completing tasks, boost teaching efficacy, and increase enthusiasm for work engagement, which has supported by related research (Jiang ,2019). 4.4 The Chain Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Teaching Efficacy The research reveals that perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy play a chain mediating role between the occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Specifically, their occupational identity can directly predict their work engagement and can also predict it indirectly through perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy. This aligns with previous research conclusions that “high occupational identity enhances early childhood teachers’ teaching efficacy, reduce occupational burnout, and indirectly support work engagement (Xu ,2021); high occupational identity can regulate teachers’ internal cognitive systems to generate higher levels of perceived organizational support (Wang et al.,2020), where perceived organizational support positively influences teaching efficacy (Xiao et al.,2024), and teaching efficacy significantly positively predicts work engagement, impacts teachers’ work vitality, dedication, and focus” (Li,2015). Their work engagement is jointly influenced by multifaceted internal and external factors. Occupational identity is an individual’s attitude and understanding towards their profession, closely related to the psychological and material satisfaction obtained in work, and is a crucial factor influencing teachers’ professional development. It can positively predict individuals’ levels of perceived organizational support (Dong,2022) and work engagement (Zhu and Zhang,2023). Research also indicates that a supportive work environment has a positive impact on teachers’ work attitudes and behaviors. The more positive support early childhood teachers feel, the higher their enthusiasm for work and levels of professional success (Dose et al.,2019;Xu et al.,2024). In this study, the high occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens positively influences their perceived organizational support, which enhances their emotional commitment and work enthusiasm, and subsequently boosts their work engagement. The occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens positively affects their teaching efficacy, in which it works on cognition, emotions, and motivations, reducing work burnout, increasing their willingness to invest in work. The higher the occupational identity, the more likely that they are to develop teaching efficacy under the support of perceived organizational support, and promote work engagement. Therefore, as an external motivator of occupational identity, it can effectively integrate perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy and transform them into internal motivation for work engagement. In conclusion, the chain mediating pathway of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy between occupational identity and work engagement is reasonable. 5 Conclusions and practical implications In light of the aforementioned, this study arrives at the following conclusions. Firstly, there exists a significant positive correlation among the occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Secondly, the occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens not only directly predicts their work engagement but also indirectly predicts it through perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy. Perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy act as chain mediators between the occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. 6 Limitations and Prospects The study has the following limitations. Firstly, this study adopted a cross-sectional design, which does not allow for inferring causality among the occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. In the future, incorporating a longitudinal design could further validate the results. Secondly, all variables were measured solely based on self-reported questionnaires, raising the possibility that participants may not have responded truthfully according to their genuine thoughts. Given the use of self-reported questionnaires in the research design, respondents might exhibit response biases, such as social expectations or social response biases, leading to issues like inaccurate responses, recall biases, or subjective judgments. Future research should employ a multi-agent reporting method to gather data from various sources. Thirdly, the sampling in this study was limited to the southwestern region in China. The results might potentially be influenced by factors such as local culture, necessitating further examination of external validity. Subsequent studies should expand to other regions. Fourthly, the study may subject to the impact of other potential factors, such as individual traits, psychological well-being, which could introduce interference with the research outcomes. Future research should enhance and deepen the research design to improve the reliability and validity. Declarations Ethics approval This study was approved by XXX (Approval No. XXX; Date: XXX ). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All procedures adhered strictly to relevant guidelines and regulations. Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all participants before completing the study questionnaire through a two-step electronic process administered via the Wenjuanxing, a leading Chinese online survey platform. Participants were first presented with a digital consent form that clearly outlined the purpose of the research, participants' rights (including voluntary participation and the right to withdraw without consequence), data confidentiality measures, and the anonymity of responses. All individuals were required to actively review the document and click an "I Agree" button to indicate their understanding and consent before the questionnaire section became accessible. This consent procedure was uniformly implemented for all participants between April 28, 2025, and May 17, 2025, aligning with the data collection period. By subsequently proceeding to complete the questionnaire, participants further confirmed their voluntary agreement to participate in the study. All individuals reviewed and approved the consent form before voluntarily proceeding with the survey. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Author Contribution All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication. Acknowledgements This study was supported byXXX (No.XXX). Data availability The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. References Alarcon G, Eschleman KJ, Bowling NA( 2009) Relationships between personality variables and burnout: a meta-analysis. Work Stress 23:244–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370903282600 Bakker AB, Bal MP (2010) Weekly work engagement and performance: A study among starting teachers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 83(1):189–206. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X402596 . Bakker AB, Demerouti E, De BE, et al. (2003)Job demands and job resources as predictors of absence duration and frequency. Journal of vocational behavior 62 (2): 341–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00030-1 Buri I, Macuka I. 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1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":37980,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eHypothesized chain mediating model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7220242/v1/dc6b8f4495f45655eaf176c4.png"},{"id":92274728,"identity":"cec163ab-05ed-4e2d-b97b-77c89dc2d6e6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-26 15:27:35","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":58681,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ethe mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7220242/v1/776f9394029a3f9912fe2593.png"},{"id":101709728,"identity":"3a401e12-edcb-40a1-9d52-3bce8b7601a9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-02 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Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003e Internationally, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 (SDG 4.2), the United Nations emphasizes \u0026ldquo;Equal Access to Quality Preschool,\u0026rdquo; underscoring the commitment to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education by 2030(Rad et al.,2022). Developing high-quality and universal early childhood education has become a shared goal globally, and preschool teachers are a critical factor in achieving this goal. However, preschool teachers often have low salaries and inadequate benefits, coupled with burdensome workloads and high demands, which prevent them from fully and enthusiastically engaging themselves in their work (Whitebook et al.,2018,Grant et al.,2019). In recent years, the issue of high turnover rates and occupational burnout among them has become increasingly severe (Jeon et al.,2018,Lee and Quek,2018 ), particularly in East Asian countries (Yang et al.,2018), posing challenges to the stability and professional development of kindergarten teachers. This, in turn, impacts the progress toward establishing quality and universal early childhood education. With the advancement of positive psychology, the concept of \u0026ldquo;work engagement\u0026rdquo;, which focuses on individual positive factors and intrinsic motivation, has gained attention as a counterpart to occupational burnout (Macey and Schneider,2008,Chen et al.,2018). Consequently, identifying factors that contribute to work engagement among early childhood educators has emerged as a significant research focus (Lipscomb et al.,2022). Studies have shown that work engagement has a positive influence on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and mental health among kindergarten teachers, while a negative impact on burnout and turnover intentions (Wang and Qin ,2015,Buri and Macuka,2018). Increasing work engagement among early childhood educators can help them better cope with work challenges (Nislin et al.,2016), thus improve their job performance (Bakker and Bal,2010) and, ultimately, a higher quality early childhood education (Zang and Feng ,2023).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile the Chinese government, in its 2019 initiative \u0026ldquo;China\u0026rsquo;s Education Modernization 2035\u0026rdquo;, outlined the goal of \u0026ldquo;popularizing quality preschool education, continuously improving the management, operating, and funding systems for preschool education, and vigorously developing public kindergartens.\u0026rdquo; In China, preschool institutions are institutionally categorized into public and private institutions based on their operational entities and funding sources. Public kindergartens are administered and funded by education administrative departments using state financial resources. In contrast, private kindergartens are established by legally recognized enterprises and institutions, social organizations, and individuals, primarily relying on non-state financial resources for their operations. Public kindergartens serve as the pillar of universal preschool education in China, playing a crucial role in promoting more equitable access to quality early childhood education. They also guide the direction of development, stabilize prices and ensure educational quality (Chen,2022). Currently, the teaching staff in public kindergartens in China comprises both staff and non-staff teachers. The former are recruited primarily through institutional examinations and public teacher recruitment processes, with compensation fully subsidized by state allocations. Conversely, non-staff teachers constitute a distinct employment category originally conceived to address staffing deficits. These non-staff teachers are hired by public kindergartens as independent legal entities, following specific recruitment procedures, and are employed privately without being paid by the government. Their salaries are jointly paid by relevant departments and the public kindergartens. By the end of 2021, the total number of full-time teachers in public kindergartens in China was 1.471\u0026nbsp;million, of which 835,000 are non-staff teachers, accounting for 56.8% of the total ( Education Statistics Data,2021). Furthermore, under the current policy in which the staffing and personnel numbers for public institutions are \u0026ldquo;only reducing rather than increasing\u0026rdquo;(Ji and Wang,2023) ,local governments face significant challenges in meeting the staffing needs of public kindergartens. As a result, many public kindergartens are increasingly employing non-staff teachers to address the shortage of educators, the non-staff teachers constitute a majority of the teaching workforce in public kindergartens in China.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe non-staff teachers\u0026rsquo; numbers, stability, and Work performance have a significant impact on the accessibility and quality of preschool education in China. Notably, declining work engagement among this cohort in public kindergartens has emerged as a significant concern. Paradoxically, although governmental policies mandate pay equity with staff teachers, most non-staff teachers receive remuneration at the lowest decile, resulting in substantial disparities in compensation and social security provisions(Ji and Wang,2023).Alongside the deepening of institutional reform and the recent trend of kindergarten closures due to low birth rates, the problems such as remuneration, occupational identity, and career development faced by the non-staff teachers have become increasingly intricate. This further led to their psychological imbalance, decreased work enthusiasm, and even decisions to quit the profession (Zhang,2023). Some studies have indicated that non-staff teachers generate less performance relative to staff teachers, which negatively impacts on organizational efficiency (Kong,2012). Influenced by their relatively lower occupational identity, non-staff teachers in public kindergartens show an overall low occupational satisfaction, diminished occupational will, and weak professional determination (Wang,2016), resulting in a low work engagement. Given children\u0026rsquo;s high attachment to teachers, their work engagement will directly influence their retention rates, happiness, and the high-quality interactions (Shannon et al.,2022) supporting children\u0026rsquo;s development, subsequently affecting the quality of childcare and the physical and mental development of young children. Therefore, exploring how perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy influence the work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens through occupational identity is crucial for the reform of preschool teacher hiring and the stability of the preschool teachers in China and beyond, and for facilitating more inclusive and high-quality early childhood education development.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.1 Occupational Identity and Work Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWork engagement, initially conceptualized by Professor Kahn at Boston University in the United States. He posited that work engagement is the continuous integration of an individual with his work role. Through ongoing recognition and experience of the actual work role, individuals effectively adjust themselves in terms of physiology, emotions, and other aspects to enhance their competence in their work role (Kahn,1990). Work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption (Wilmar et al.,2002). For kindergarten teachers, work engagement entails maintaining a positive affective states at work, experiencing the value of their work, assuming responsibility, and sustaining a focused work state (Wilmar et al.,2002). It serves as a key indicator of the quality of teachers\u0026rsquo; professional lives, which being modulated by personal traits, work contexts (Nislin et al.,2016), and their combined influences (Rabinowitz and Hall,1977). Previous research indicated that work engagement positively impacts kindergarten teachers\u0026rsquo; job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and mental well-being (Buri and Macuka,2018), while negatively affects job burnout and intentions to leave (Wang and Qin,2015), resulting in better job performance (Nislin et al.,2016).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational identity of kindergarten teachers manifests as their internalized acceptance of the early childhood education profession, and a conscious dedication to serving the early childhood education industry (Tan,2009). Occupational identity, as an intrinsic driving force for teachers, is a crucial positive cognitive variable that reduces turnover intentions and mitigates risks in career development (Tang and Wang,2019). Strong occupational identity motivates teachers to fully engage in their work, experience feeling of happiness, accomplishment, and value, thus reducing turnover rates and inspiring proactive enhancement of professional abilities (Colliander,2018;Nickel and Crosby,2022). Studies indicated that the overall occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens is generally moderate (Fu,2018) to low (Ding,2014), which is lower than that of staff teachers in public kindergartens (Jiang,2021). A high level of occupational identity is closely linked to the positive work status of kindergarten teachers. Individuals with high occupational identity often exhibit higher job satisfaction (Wang,2013), better teacher-parent relationships (Guo,2023), greater psychological capital (Gao,2021), and increased levels of work engagement (Chen and Guo,2023). Therefore, occupational identity directly influences the work engagement of kindergarten teachers (Gao,2021), with work engagement being a immediate downstream variable of occupational identity (Chen and Wu,2018). Consequently, this study posits the hypothesis 1: The occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens significantly positively predicts their work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.2 Perceived Organizational Support as a Mediator between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerceived organizational support (POS) conceptualized by Eisenberger et al. in 1986 based on social exchange theory, reflects individuals\u0026rsquo; comprehensive perception of the organization\u0026rsquo;s recognition of their contributions and concern for their well-being (Eisenberger et al.,1986). However, studies have found that non-staff teachers in public kindergartens in China get less support from their organizations (Hong et al.,2021). Research also shown that a strong sense of organizational support can meet teachers\u0026rsquo; social and emotional needs, making them feel rewarded for their efforts by the organization. This will increase their occupational well-being and competence (Wang and Liu,2018), leading to increased dedication and effort towards organizational interests (Wang and Xu,2008). Perceived organizational support significantly and positively predicts work engagement (Zou and Yin,2017;Guan,2021) and career success (Xu et al.,2025). Moreover, perceived organizational support can also act as a mediating variable influencing early childhood teachers in various ways: partially mediating between work-family conflict and career success (Xu et al.,2024), partially mediating between professional vision and work engagement (Zhou et al.,2023), and mediating between job crafting and turnover intentions (Zhao,2021). Therefore, this study posited that perceived organizational support played a mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. When they recognized the significance and value of their roles, they would increase their levels of occupational identity, adopted a more positive view of people and events in the organizational environment, thus fostering a higher level of perceived organizational support (Wang et al.,2020). Specifically, those with high levels of occupational identity can regulate their internal cognitive systems, and have a higher sense of organizational support.Based on this, we posit Research Hypothesis 2: Perceived organizational support plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.3 Teaching Efficacy as a Mediator between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeaching efficacy is the application and development of the self-efficacy theory in the field of education. The concept of teaching efficacy among teachers, rooted in Bandura\u0026rsquo;s self-efficacy theory (Tschannen-Moran and Hoy,2001), refers to teachers\u0026rsquo; beliefs in their capabilities to effectively execute instructional tasks and achieve educational objectives (Liu and Dan,2019). Previous researches, based on social cognitive theory, have illustrated how teaching efficacy and individuals\u0026rsquo; positive psychological states are shaped, suggesting that teaching efficacy influences individuals\u0026rsquo; cognition, emotions, and motivation, and ultimately serve as a motivational mechanism for work engagement (Schaufeli,2012). Teaching efficacy can impact various aspects of a teacher\u0026rsquo;s professional life, including work motivation, job satisfaction, occupational well-being (Chen et al.,2023), attitudes and behaviors towards teaching practices, work engagement (Chen et al.2022;Wang et al.,2022). The perception of teaching efficacy among early childhood educators is influenced by personal characteristics (Ferreira et al.,2024), work experience (Von et al.,2018), and the kindergarten environment (Zeng,2023).Preschool teachers with high teaching efficacy typically demonstrate superior performance in fulfilling their teaching responsibilities (Ferreira et al.,2021). Studies have also indicated that teaching efficacy among preschool teachers partially mediates the relationship between their occupational identity and occupational burnout (Xu,2021), as well as significantly mediates the influence of occupational identity on work engagement (Zhu and Zhang,2023). According to the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), self-efficacy is an important influencing factor of job burnout (Alarcon et al.,2009) and holds significant importance for the self - regulation and enhancement of work engagement (Guo and Yang,2021). As an extension of this construct in teacher research, teaching efficacy substantially predicts educators' work engagement. Based on this, this study proposes Research Hypothesis 3: Teaching efficacy plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1.4 The Chain Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Teaching Efficacy between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeaching efficacy exhibits significant correlations to both objective and subjective support. Perceived organizational support is significantly positively correlated with teaching efficacy among teachers (Zhang and Mao,2022;Xiao et al.,2024). The psychological and behavioral aspects of teachers are directly influenced by the teaching resources, teaching environment, and organizational atmosphere provided by the school, which can lead to a stronger connection between teachers and their organizations. This support and resources instill greater confidence in teachers\u0026rsquo; own value and abilities, enabling them to demonstrate superior work capabilities ( Li et al.,2017). Currently, there is a lack of direct research on the chain mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy in the impact of occupational identity on work engagement. However, related studies provided certain support. Previous studies have indicated that perceived organizational support plays a mediating role in the relationship between teacher efficacy and self-efficacy (Jaafar and Lailia,2019). Teaching efficacy and self-leadership also mediate the relationship between occupational identification and career adaptability of pre-service kindergarten teachers (Qiao et al.,2022). Furthermore, teaching efficacy and job satisfaction play a chain mediating role in the impact of occupational identity on work engagement among kindergarten teachers (Zhu and Zhang,2023). According to the JD-R model, the richer the resources an individual acquires of the job, the more inclined they are to exhibit positive work behaviors, leading to improvements in work efficiency and performance (Bakker et al.,2003). Perceived organizational support belongs to the category of work resources. The more support the organization provides to preschool teachers, the higher the degree of Perceived organizational support they perceive (Yang,2024), which can stimulate the intrinsic motivation of individuals to construct teaching efficacy, ultimately enhancing their work engagement levels (Dong,2022). This suggests that high occupational identity among non-staff teachers in public kindergartens positively influences individuals\u0026rsquo; cognition, emotions, and motivation, enhancing their level of perceived organizational support and belief in their own abilities, thereby increasing their work engagement. Based on this, this study puts forward research hypothesis 4: Perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy play a chain mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.5 The current study\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, substantial of research has been conducted on the work engagement of preschool teachers, but there is still a need for further in-depth exploration into the factors and mechanisms that influence their work engagement. Additionally, the non-staff teachers in public kindergartens have received relatively few attentions in existing research. While occupational identity has received fragmented scholarly attention, there is a lack of research on the mechanism in which how occupational identity, teaching efficacy, and perceived organizational support affect work engagement. Analyzing the mechanism can not only offer new perspectives for internalizing of occupational identity, integrating perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy, to enhance autonomous work engagement, but also provide a scientific basis for professional development and personnel training for such teachers. Such insights could expand scholarly discourse while improving early childhood education quality. Based on the social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, and in light of existing research, elaborate on the interrelationships among preschool teachers' professional identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement, we propose the following hypotheses and will test them through a chain mediating model (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e):\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eH1: The occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens significantly positively predicts their work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eH2: Perceived organizational support plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eH3: Teaching efficacy plays a significant mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eH4: Perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy play a chain mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"2 Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.1 Participants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eConvenience sampling of 436 non-staff teachers was recruited from 16 public kindergartens in Chongqing and Sichuan of China. After excluding invalid ones with such as random responses, excessive missing answers, and contradictory choices, 429 valid questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 98.4%. The basic information of participants is shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis research design and procedures rigorously adhered to the principles of informed consent, confidentiality, and the avoidance of harm. A detailed informed consent letter outlining the research purpose was provided to all prospective participants. Only upon providing written consent were participants subsequently presented with the research instruments and invited to provide responses. Furthermore, formal ethical approval for this research was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee) at the researcher's host institution.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemographics of the participants (\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;429)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eProfessional title\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot assessed\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e291\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e67.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e381\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e88.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eElementary teacher level three\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eInsurance\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eInsurance\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e198\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e46.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eElementary teacher level two\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eno insurance\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e106\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e24.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eElementary teacher level one\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eother forms\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e125\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e29.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSenior elementary teacher\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25 and below\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e118\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e27.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e26\u0026ndash;35\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e195\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e45.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeaching age\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;5 years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e177\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e41.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e36\u0026ndash;45\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e91\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e21.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5\u0026ndash;10 years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e148\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e34.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOver 45\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;10 years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e104\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e24.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ehighest education\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTechnical secondary school ( high school ) and below\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003elevel of kindergarten\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnrated\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e153\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e35.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eJunior college\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e197\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e45.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eThird-tier Kindergarten\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eUndergraduate\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e148\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e34.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSecond-tier Kindergarten\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGraduate student\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst-tier Kindergarten\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e17.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemonstration Kindergarten\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e19.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2Measures\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2.1 Occupational Identity for Non-staff Teachers in Public Kindergartens Questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study used the Occupational Identity Scale for non-staff teachers in public kindergartens prepared by Tian \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (Tian et al.,2020) The scale comprises 26 items, including four subscales of role values, professional behavior tendency, professional values and professional sense of belonging. It is evaluated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1 for \u0026ldquo;completely disagreement\u0026rdquo; and 5 for \u0026ldquo;completely agreement\u0026rdquo;. In this study, the Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s Alpha is 0.93.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2.2 Perceived organizational support for non-staff teachers in public kindergartens questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study adapts the Perceived Organizational Support Scale compiled by Chen et al (Chen,2006). The scale comprises 17 items, including four subscales of superior support, colleague support, emotional organizational support and instrumental organizational support. The scale is rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1 for \u0026ldquo;completely disagreement\u0026rdquo; and 5 for \u0026ldquo;completely agreement\u0026rdquo;. On this basis, this study adds an item that reflects the instrumental organizational support of non-staff teachers '\u003cem\u003eWe have equal pay for non-staff teachers and staff teachers in our kindergarten'\u003c/em\u003e. The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s Alpha of the scale is 0.96.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2.3 Teaching efficacy for preschool teachers questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Preschool Teachers\u0026rsquo; Teaching Efficacy Scale used in this study was prepared by Zhao (Chen,2007). The scale comprises 28 items, including two subscales of preschool teachers\u0026rsquo; general teaching efficacy and personal teaching efficacy. It is evaluated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with elevated scores indicating greater levels of teaching efficacy. The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s Alpha coefficient of the scale in this study is 0.82.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2.4 Work engagement for preschool teachers questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study uses the Kindergarten Teacher Work Engagement Scale revised by Wang et al (Wang and Qin,2015). The scale comprises 22 items, including four subscales of work enjoyment, work values, work responsibilities and work focus. It is evaluated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with higher scores indicating greater levels of work engagement. In this study, the Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s Alpha coefficient for this questionnaire is 0.95.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.3 Research procedures and data processing\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eUpon collecting the questionnaires, the researcher inputted all the data and conducted data analysis by using SPSS 22.0 and the PROCESS program developed by Hayes. This program facilitates efficient analysis of various mediating models, moderating models, and their combinations, enabling direct examination of the existence of mediating effects. In this study, the PROCESS program\u0026rsquo;s Model 4 and Model 6 were utilized. The analysis employed a bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method with 5000 repeated samples to calculate a 95% confidence interval (CI) for testing both mediating effects and moderated mediating effects (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003e Fang et al.,2014\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3 Research Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.1 Common Method Bias Test\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFour questionnaires are used to measure the same respondents, which may raise concerns about common method bias stemming from self-reported data. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a test for common method bias for the data. The study primarily employed the Harman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test, which involves subjecting all items from the four questionnaires to exploratory factor analysis. The un-rotated PCA yielded 12 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 collectively. The first factor explained 33.43% of the variance, below the critical standard of 40% (Podsakoff et al.,2003). Hence, the common method bias in this study is considered not severe.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study found that non-staff teachers in public kindergartens scored high in occupational identity (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4.10, SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.62), moderately high in perceived organizational support (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.82, SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.83), moderate in teaching efficacy (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.19, SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.39), and moderately high in work engagement (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.82, SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.75).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCorrelation analysis was conducted among occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Significant positive correlations were observed between these variables. Occupational identity shown significant positive correlations with perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.477**, r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.234**, r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.604**). Perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement also displayed significant positive correlations (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.244**, r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.692**). Additionally, teaching efficacy and work engagement were significantly positively correlated (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.312**). These correlation analysis results lay the foundation for further exploration of the relationships between the aforementioned variables. Refer to Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e for specific data.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics and correlation analysis (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;429)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.occupational identity\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.62\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.perceived organizational support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.82\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.477**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.teaching efficacy\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.39\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.234**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.244**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.work engagement\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.82\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.604**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.692**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.312**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e**p\u0026lt;0.01\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.3 The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Teaching Efficacy between Occupational Identity and Work Engagement of Non-Staff Teachers in Public Kindergartens\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was found through analysis that there is a significant correlation among the variables of perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, occupational identity, and work engagement, meeting the requirements for testing mediation effects. To further explore the relationships among these four variables, the SPSS macro-PROCESS model 16 was employed. Taking occupational identity as the independent variable, work engagement as the dependent variable, and perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy as mediating variables, the study tested the multiple mediating effects among these variables after controlling of gender, age, professional title, major, years of teaching experience, kindergarten level, and insurance status. The results of the mediation analysis are presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. The direct path from occupational identity to work engagement was significant (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.333, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), confirming hypothesis 1 is valid. The direct paths from occupational identity to perceived organizational support (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.603, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and from perceived organizational support to work engagement (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.460, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) were also significant, indicating the mediating role of perceived organizational support between occupational identity and work engagement, thus hypothesis 2 is valid. Furthermore, the direct paths from occupational identity to teaching efficacy (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.090, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and from teaching efficacy to work engagement (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.183, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) were significant, demonstrating the mediating role of teaching efficacy between occupational identity and work engagement, supporting hypothesis 3 is valid. Additionally, the direct path from perceived organizational support to teaching efficacy was significant (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.071, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), indicating the presence of a chained mediation effect, supporting hypothesis 4 is valid too. See Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e for detailed regression analysis results.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegression analysis between variables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOutcome variable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePredictor variable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eR\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eperceived organizational support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eoccupational identity\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.603\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.254\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.548\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25.793\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eteaching efficacy\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eoccupational identity\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.090\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.593\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.315\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.099\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.780\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eperceived organizational support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.071\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.766\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework engagement\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eoccupational identity\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.333\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.652\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.796\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.634\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e80.533\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eperceived organizational support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.460\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14.213\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eteaching efficacy\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.183\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.023\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo further examine the multiple mediating effects among the variables, a bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method was employed, setting 5000 repetitions of random sampling. When the Bootstrap 95% confidence interval of each path coefficient does not include zero, it indicates a significant path effect (Hayes,2017). As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, it was observed that the direct effect of occupational identity on work engagement, the mediating effect of perceived organizational support between occupational identity and work engagement, the mediating effect of teaching efficacy between occupational identity and work engagement, as well as the chained mediating effect of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy, all reached a significant level. The direct effect accounted for 52.44% of the total effect, the mediating effect of perceived organizational support accounted for 43.62% of the total effect, the mediating effect of teaching efficacy accounted for 2.68% of the total effect, and the chained mediating effect of teaching efficacy and perceived organizational support accounted for 1.26% of the total effect. The overall indirect effect ratio was 47.56%. This indicates that the direct path between occupational identity and work engagement, as well as the indirect paths with perceived organizational support as a mediating variable, teaching efficacy as a mediating variable, and both perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy as mediating variables, were all significant.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe effect size of teaching efficacy and perceived organizational support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePathways\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEffect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBootSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBootLLCL\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBootULCL\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational identity\u0026rarr; Perceived organizational support\u0026rarr; Work engagement\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.277\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.202\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.359\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e43.62%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational identity\u0026rarr; Teaching efficacy\u0026rarr; Work engagement\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.017\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.037\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.68%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational identity\u0026rarr; Perceived organizational support\u0026rarr; Teaching efficacy\u0026rarr; Work engagement\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.015\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.26%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect effect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.333\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.044\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.248\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.419\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e52.44%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eindirect effect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.302\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.225\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.385\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e47.56%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal effect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.635\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.048\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.541\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.729\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e100%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study delved into the working mechanisms in which how the occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens influences work engagement. The findings revealed that four pathways by which occupational identity impacts work engagement: (1) a direct positive predictive effect of occupational identity on work engagement; (2) the influence of occupational identity on work engagement mediated by perceived organizational support; (3) the influence of occupational identity on work engagement mediated by teaching efficacy; (4) the impact of occupational identity on work engagement through the sequential mediation of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.1 Impact of Occupational Identity on Work Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results demonstrated that the direct effect of occupational identity on work engagement constitutes more than 50% of the total effect, underscoring the pivotal role of occupational identity as a protective factor for work engagement. This finding is consistent with prior researches, indicating that a higher level of occupational identity significantly and positively forecasts the work engagement of kindergarten teachers (Wang et al.,2021;Zhu and Zhang,2023). Several factors may account for this relationship: Occupational identity, being rooted in cognition, reflects an individual\u0026rsquo;s cognitive and emotional connection to their profession, highlighting his passion and endorsement of his career. Work engagement, on the other hand, pertains to behavior, emphasizing the proactive state of individuals integrating their professional roles into their work. Individual cognitive levels and styles directly shape their behaviors and choices. Therefore, there must be a link between occupational identity and work engagement. Occupational identity empowers non-staff teachers in kindergartens to view work not just as a means of livelihood but also as an integration of sense,value, and career objectives, propelling them to invest more time and effort enthusiastically in their roles. Moreover, in line with social identity theory, a robust occupational identity imbues individuals with a sense of professional purpose, mission, and honor, and motivates them to dedicate their resources, energy, and time to their roles. Such identity fosters loyalty and passion towards the educational cause among non-staff teachers in kindergartens, drives motivation and aspiration of self-dedication, and tightly intertwines career objectives and capability advancements with the educational domain, thereby heightening the work engagement levels of kindergarten teachers (Jiang,2019). Furthermore, a high occupational identity can bring positive emotional experiences like joy, contentment, and happiness in non-staff teachers in kindergartens, facilitating the integration of professional emotions into their work processes, thus escalating the intrinsic motivation for work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.2 The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support in the Impact of Occupational Identity on Work Engagement\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study indicates that perceived organizational supportplays a mediating role)between occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. With the mediating effect of this pathway constituting a significant proportion of the total effect, it is a crucial mediating variable influencing their work engagement. This finding is aligns with the existing researches showing that organizational support among early childhood educators partially mediates the relationship between their professional vision and work engagement (Zhou et al.,2023). Possible reasons for this include:Firstly, perceived organizational support serves as a vital positive psychological resource, providing continual emotional and mental backing in the workplace. Although triggered by the kindergarten\u0026rsquo;s organizational environment, it remains a subjective perception of the teachers. Occupational identity reflects an individual\u0026rsquo;s positive internal beliefs, and non-staff teachers in kindergartens exhibit varying degrees of organizational belongingness in interactions with the kindergarten environment and others due to differences in their occupational identity levels. In case of a higher occupational identity, they develop a positive view of the people and events within the institution, leading to a higher sense of organizational support. Moreover, teachers with high levels of occupational identity can regulate their internal cognitive systems and have an increased perceived organizational support, which can buffers the impact of staffing issues on their occupational identity. This aligns with existing researches that explain how occupational identity, using social identity theory, can positively predict organizational identification (Zhang et al.,2013). Secondly, according to social support theory, the provision of material, emotional, and professional support by kindergartens can influence the professional emotions, behaviors, and action intentions of early childhood educators. When they perceive a strong organizational support, their positive work attitudes and behaviors are enhanced (Suo et al.,2024). Therefore, teacher\u0026rsquo;s organizational support emerges as a crucial variable in explaining work engagement (Sun et al.,2015). Perceived organizational support strengthens emotional commitment and psychological belongingness between teachers and their organization. This will help generate positive emotions such as gratitude and joy, thus stimulating work motivation, and enhancing work engagement (Chen et al.,2023). This also validates the social exchange theory; due to recent national initiatives to safeguard \u0026ldquo;equal pay for equal work\u0026rdquo; and professional development rights for non-staff teachers in kindergartens, teachers who perceive organizational support are more willing to engage in their work. Consequently, the higher the occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens, the higher their perceived organizational support, emotional commitment, and work engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.3 The Mediating Role of Teaching Efficacy in the Influence of Occupational Identity on Work Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study indicates that teaching efficacy plays a mediating role between occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Although the mediating effect constitutes a relatively small proportion of the total effect, it still underscores its importance in the process of how occupational identity influences work engagement. This finding aligns with existing researches that suggest a positive correlation between teaching efficacy and work engagement among kindergarten teachers (Zhu and Zhang,2023), and its close association with occupational identity and levels of occupational burnout (Xu,2021). Possible reasons include: Firstly, based on the Job Demands-Resources model of work engagement, self-efficacy is a crucial influencing factor in work engagement, holding significant relevance in self-regulation and enhancement for work engagement. As an extension in teacher research, teaching efficacy plays an important predictive role in teachers\u0026rsquo; work engagement, and actively promotes their work engagement (Guo and Yang,2021). Non-staff teachers in public kindergartens with strong teaching efficacy, even when faced with low wages and high work intensity, tend to invest considerable time and effort to achieve good job performance. Experiences of achieving work objectives further enhance their teaching efficacy, forming a virtuous cycle of \u0026ldquo;high teaching efficacy \u0026ndash; high work engagement \u0026ndash; even higher teaching efficacy.\u0026rdquo; Therefore, teaching efficacy positively predicts their work engagement. Secondly, teaching efficacy represents teachers\u0026rsquo; subjective judgments on general teaching relationships and functions, built upon a certain occupational psychological foundation. Occupational identity is the internalized holistic understanding by teachers of relatively balanced and stable core elements of their profession, and an objective condition for establishing a professional psychological foundation. Occupational identity not only influences how teachers utilize resources to solve their own dilemmas but also impacts their motivation, efficacy perceptions, occupational burnout, and job satisfaction (Gu and Day,2007). Relevant studies also indicate that enhancing occupational identity has positive implications for increasing teaching efficacy (Xie et al.,2017). The higher the occupational identity level of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens, the more they will accept their professional roles, and the more they will effectively utilize work resources to enhance their professional competence and confidence. In such way, they will strengthen their belief and determination in completing tasks, boost teaching efficacy, and increase enthusiasm for work engagement, which has supported by related research (Jiang ,2019).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.4 The Chain Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Teaching Efficacy\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe research reveals that perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy play a chain mediating role between the occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Specifically, their occupational identity can directly predict their work engagement and can also predict it indirectly through perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy. This aligns with previous research conclusions that \u0026ldquo;high occupational identity enhances early childhood teachers\u0026rsquo; teaching efficacy, reduce occupational burnout, and indirectly support work engagement (Xu ,2021); high occupational identity can regulate teachers\u0026rsquo; internal cognitive systems to generate higher levels of perceived organizational support (Wang et al.,2020), where perceived organizational support positively influences teaching efficacy (Xiao et al.,2024), and teaching efficacy significantly positively predicts work engagement, impacts teachers\u0026rsquo; work vitality, dedication, and focus\u0026rdquo; (Li,2015). Their work engagement is jointly influenced by multifaceted internal and external factors. Occupational identity is an individual\u0026rsquo;s attitude and understanding towards their profession, closely related to the psychological and material satisfaction obtained in work, and is a crucial factor influencing teachers\u0026rsquo; professional development. It can positively predict individuals\u0026rsquo; levels of perceived organizational support (Dong,2022) and work engagement (Zhu and Zhang,2023). Research also indicates that a supportive work environment has a positive impact on teachers\u0026rsquo; work attitudes and behaviors. The more positive support early childhood teachers feel, the higher their enthusiasm for work and levels of professional success (Dose et al.,2019;Xu et al.,2024). In this study, the high occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens positively influences their perceived organizational support, which enhances their emotional commitment and work enthusiasm, and subsequently boosts their work engagement. The occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens positively affects their teaching efficacy, in which it works on cognition, emotions, and motivations, reducing work burnout, increasing their willingness to invest in work. The higher the occupational identity, the more likely that they are to develop teaching efficacy under the support of perceived organizational support, and promote work engagement. Therefore, as an external motivator of occupational identity, it can effectively integrate perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy and transform them into internal motivation for work engagement. In conclusion, the chain mediating pathway of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy between occupational identity and work engagement is reasonable.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5 Conclusions and practical implications","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn light of the aforementioned, this study arrives at the following conclusions. Firstly, there exists a significant positive correlation among the occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. Secondly, the occupational identity of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens not only directly predicts their work engagement but also indirectly predicts it through perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy. Perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy act as chain mediators between the occupational identity and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"6 Limitations and Prospects","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study has the following limitations. Firstly, this study adopted a cross-sectional design, which does not allow for inferring causality among the occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens. In the future, incorporating a longitudinal design could further validate the results. Secondly, all variables were measured solely based on self-reported questionnaires, raising the possibility that participants may not have responded truthfully according to their genuine thoughts. Given the use of self-reported questionnaires in the research design, respondents might exhibit response biases, such as social expectations or social response biases, leading to issues like inaccurate responses, recall biases, or subjective judgments. Future research should employ a multi-agent reporting method to gather data from various sources. Thirdly, the sampling in this study was limited to the southwestern region in China. The results might potentially be influenced by factors such as local culture, necessitating further examination of external validity. Subsequent studies should expand to other regions. Fourthly, the study may subject to the impact of other potential factors, such as individual traits, psychological well-being, which could introduce interference with the research outcomes. Future research should enhance and deepen the research design to improve the reliability and validity.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEthics approval\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study was approved by XXX (Approval No. XXX; Date: XXX ). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All procedures adhered strictly to relevant guidelines and regulations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed consent\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e Informed consent was obtained from all participants before completing the study questionnaire through a two-step electronic process administered via the Wenjuanxing, a leading Chinese online survey platform. Participants were first presented with a digital consent form that clearly outlined the purpose of the research, participants' rights (including voluntary participation and the right to withdraw without consequence), data confidentiality measures, and the anonymity of responses. All individuals were required to actively review the document and click an \"I Agree\" button to indicate their understanding and consent before the questionnaire section became accessible. This consent procedure was uniformly implemented for all participants between April 28, 2025, and May 17, 2025, aligning with the data collection period. By subsequently proceeding to complete the questionnaire, participants further confirmed their voluntary agreement to participate in the study. All individuals reviewed and approved the consent form before voluntarily proceeding with the survey.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study was supported byXXX (No.XXX).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAlarcon G, Eschleman KJ, Bowling NA( 2009) Relationships between personality variables and burnout: a meta-analysis. 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Education Research Monthly (08):80\u0026ndash;87. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.16477/j.cnki.issn1674-2311.2017.08.009\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"occupational identity, work engagement, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, non-staff teachers in public kindergartens","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7220242/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7220242/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePublic kindergartens are crucial for the universal accessibility and high-quality development of preschool education in China, with non-staff teachers serving as the driving force of teaching. The level of non-staff teachers\u0026rsquo; work engagement directly impacts the quality of education and the development of children, eventually affecting the realization of these goals. Drawing from social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, this study surveyed 429 non-staff teachers in public kindergartens in China. The survey was conducted using the Occupational Identity Questionnaire for Non-Staff Teachers, the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, the Teaching Efficacy Scale, and the Work Engagement Questionnaire. Key findings are as follows: (1) The occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens exhibit significant positive correlations. (2) Occupational identity serves as both a direct and an indirect predictor of work engagement, with perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy playing a chain-mediating role in the relation between occupational identity and work engagement. These findings suggest that the level of work engagement among non-staff teachers in public kindergartens can be increased by enhancing occupational identity, perceived organizational support, and teaching efficacy. This study provides valuable insights for addressing the identity differentiation of teachers in a dual employment system and reforming the hiring system of preschool teachers, contributing to a more equitable and high-quality development of preschool education in China and worldwide.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Influence of occupational identity on work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens: the chain-mediating role of perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-26 15:04:54","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7220242/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"2f573ce0-340c-4c95-b0ef-bf8c5c754c75","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 26th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":55090485,"name":"Social science/Education"},{"id":55090486,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":55090487,"name":"Social science/Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-02T21:09:34+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-26 15:04:54","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7220242","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7220242","identity":"rs-7220242","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}