Effects of Social Support on Professional Identity of Secondary Vocational Students Major in Preschool Nursery Teacher Program: A Chain Mediating Model of Psychological Adjustment and School Belonging

Yingxin Chen, Huihua He () and Yan Yang
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Yingxin Chen: Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 201418, China
Huihua He: Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 201418, China
Yan Yang: Tianhua College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 201807, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Background: In the context of the high turnover rate of preschool nursery teachers, the preschool nursery teacher program in secondary vocational schools has been an important channel for sending qualified nursery teachers to early education institutions, and fostering students’ professional identity, which is key to their future career construction and development; therefore, this study aims to investigate the mechanism of social support on professional identity, with a chain mediating effect of psychological adjustment and school belonging. Methods: 377 third-year students from secondary vocational schools majoring in nursery and preschool teaching were surveyed with the Social Support Scale, Professional Identity Scale, School Belonging Scale, Well-being Scale, Discrimination Perception Scale and Self-Identity Scale. Results: (1) Correlation analysis showed that social support, professional identity, school belonging, and psychological adjustment (well-being, self-identity) were significantly and positively correlated with each other. A significant negative correlation was found between discrimination perception and other variables. (2) School belonging played a partially mediating role between social support and professional identity, and psychological adjustment and school belonging showed chain mediating effects between social support and professional identity. Conclusions: Social support not only directly influences professional identity, but also indirectly affects professional identity through the chain mediating effect of psychological adjustment and school belonging.

Keywords: professional identity; social support; psychological adjustment; school belonging; preschool nursery teacher (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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