Preschool Teacher Empowerment in China: Current Situation and Influential Factors

• In Event: 66.087 - MTCC Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: 66.087-6 - Power and Positioning When Assuming a Teacher Leadership Role in Early Childhood and Elementary Contexts

Abstract

This study investigates the current preschool teacher empowerment situation in China. 1101 preschool teachersjoined in the research. Study showed that (1) The average empowerment score of preschool teachers was 3.87 out of 5, teacher empowerment had made preliminary success in China; (2) Preschool teacher empowerment was significantly associated with teachers’ gender, age, working years and kindergarten size. Male teachers in small kindergarten with high positions and long working years were more likely to have more sense of power than female young teachers in big kindergartens. The paper attempts to understand the influence of demographic factors on teacher empowerment from the perspective of Chinese culture and context and tries to propose some suggestions for the development of teacher empowerment in China.

Authors

• Chuchu Zheng, East China Normal University

• Yong Jiang, East China Normal University