Career Plateauing among Chinese Kindergarten Teachers

Abstract

Teacher career plateaus hinder the high-quality development of teaching staff. Based on a nationwide questionnaire survey on Chinese kindergarten teachers’ career plateaus, this study developed a kindergarten teacher career plateauing structural model. The research findings indicate that overall career plateauing among Chinese kindergarten teachers is at a moderate level. The kindergarten teacher career plateauing model is best represented by the second-order single-factor/first-order three-factor structure, which consists of three dimensions: professional development, hierarchical, and emotional plateauing. Among these dimensions, emotional plateauing is most intensively perceived by teachers. Telltale signs of kindergarten teacher career plateauing range from stagnation of professional progress to losses of senses of meaning in work, constrained promotion of professional titles, slim chances of promotion to higher positions, fading positive emotional engagement, and increased negative workplace emotions. Implications of the study for building a professionalized preschool teaching force include emphases on teachers’ long-range career planning and their agency in career advancement. Special attention should be paid to their emotional needs.