ABSTRACT
Purpose: Firstly, the Caring Behaviour Questionnaire for
Preschool Teachers was developed to facilitate formal assessment of preschool
teachers’ caring quality. Caring
behavior, as an important performance of preschool teachers’ caring quality,
can reflect the real state of preschool teachers’ caring. The research on the
structure and present situation of preschool teachers’ caring behavior is not
only the exploration of caring theory, but also conducive to the professional
development of preschool teachers. Here we report the development and initial
validation. Secondly, the relationship model of the four variables of preschool
teachers’ caring behavior, competence, occupational happiness and job
performance is established to explore the internal mechanism of the effect of
preschool teachers’ caring behavior on job performance. Methods: Firstly, the initial item pool was developed based
on a theoretical framework, empirical literature, existing scales and expert
review. The Caring Behavior Questionnaire for Preschool Teachers (CBQPT) was developed from
the thematic analysis of open questionnaire surveys with preschool teachers.
The questionnaire was conveniently distributed to 80 front-line preschool
teachers from 8 kindergartens in Xinzhou city. Exploratory factor analysis was
utilized to explore domains in the questionnaire. Construct and convergent
validity data, internal consistency and composite reliability of the domains
were analyzed. Demographic
data and preschool teachers’ characteristics were collected. Secondly, participants were 500 Chinese
preschool teachers who reported measures of the current situation of
kindergarten teachers’ caring behaviors, self-assessment questionnaire for
teachers’ competence, work performance and occupational happiness. Structural equation
modeling and bootstrap mediation tests were used. Results: Firstly, four-hundred and fifty-four preschool
teachers completed the questionnaire of preschool teachers’ caring behavior.
The final questionnaire of preschool teachers’ caring behavior has 19 items under five internally-consistent
and reliable domains: understanding and support, class management,
communication, respect and trust, reflection and promotion. The full scale demonstrated good internal consistency (∝ = 0.94),
composite reliability of the domains, acceptable convergent, divergent
validity, good construct and convergent validity. The internal consistency coefficient of the
questionnaire was 0.940, class management 0.741, understanding and support
0.855, communication 0.820, respect and trust 0.825, reflection and promotion
0.814 respectively. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire meet the
requirements of measurement. This questionnaire was used to measure 484
kindergarten teachers. Secondly, the results showed that teachers’ caring
behavior significantly positively predicted work performance in preschool
teachers. Competence and occupational happiness were found to play a mediating
role between teachers’ caring behavior and work performance in preschool
teachers. Conclusions: Firstly, initial evaluation shows the CBQPT has
good validity and reliability and is a promising tool for the measure of
current situation of preschool teachers’ caring behavior towards children. The results showed that
the overall caring behavior level of kindergarten
teachers was high, and the average score from the highest
to the lowest was understanding and support, respect and
trust, class management, reflection and promotion, communication. In
educational background, there is no significant difference in preschool
teachers’ caring behavior. There are significant differences in
preschool teachers’ caring behavior in teaching age, marital status, school
location and school nature. Preschool teachers’ caring behavior in public
schools is significantly higher than that in private schools. Married preschool
teachers’ caring behavior is significantly higher than unmarried preschool
teachers’ caring behavior. Urban preschool teachers’ caring behavior is significantly
higher than rural preschool teachers’ caring behavior. Public schools’ caring
behavior is significantly higher than private kindergarten teachers’ caring
behavior. Secondly,
the study expands the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effect of
teachers’ caring on work performance by the mediating roles of competence and
occupational happiness, and its findings are novel and insightful, both
theoretically and practically. This study not only clarifies that preschool
teachers’ caring behavior positively predicts work performance but also
supports the roles of their competence and occupational happiness as mediators
in this relationship.