With the popularity of the health and wellness trend in recent years, smartphone fitness applications have become more and more popular. Thus, this study explored factors affecting the behavioral intention to use and the actual usage behavior of smartphone fitness apps from technical, health, and social perspectives by integrating the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). We examined whether perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, social influence, self-efficacy, goal-setting, and self-monitoring predict usage behavior. Based on the survey responses of 1066 smartphone fitness apps users, we revealed that all of the variables, except for self-monitoring, significantly influence usage behavior, while behavioral intention acts as a total mediator between perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use and usage behavior. Drawing on the research findings, we suggest that influencing behavioral intention to use a fitness app can be an effective method to increase its adoption. Therefore, app developers need to pay attention to interventions that seek to enhance the usefulness of the app, provide professional counseling, as well as an opportunity for effortless goal setting features.

Using nation-wide survey data (N=2328) from China, this study investigates how social support from family, peers, and teachers influence low-income household children’s (from 13 to 15 years old) academic resilience, as well as how academic resilience mediates the relationship between social support and children’s academic achievement. Structural equation modelling was adopted to analyse the data. The results reveal that (1) low-income household children’s family, peer, and teacher support are associated with their academic resilience; (2) peer support and academic resilience of low-income household children significantly relate with their academic achievements; (3) academic resilience plays a full mediation role in teacher support and a partial mediation role in peer support on children’s academic achievement. The implications of this study on theory and practice, the limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Grounded on the social exchange theory (SET), social cognitive theory (SCT), and self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy (SE) and work engagement (WE) on the effect of social support (SS) on job satisfaction (JS) among Chinese ethnic minority kindergarten teachers (KTs). The results show that: (1) SS has a directly significant effect on JS; (2) WE mediates the relationship between SS and JS; and (3) SE mediates the relationship between SS and WE. Although the mediation of SE on the relationship between SS and JS is not found, the posited multiple mediations of SE and WE on the relationship between SS and JS are totally accepted. The results reveal that SS mainland Chinese ethnic minority KTs received can not only have a direct effect on JS but also have an indirect impact through the one-path mediating role of WE and the chain mediating role of SE and WE. The results suggest that governments, supervisors, and sponsors should work together to provide ethnic minority KTs with more prioritized SS from both cultural psychology and financial material and opportunities for facilitating professional knowledge and skills in order to enhance their SE, inspire their WE, and eventually accumulate their JS.

China has witnessed a considerable expansion of private higher education institutions (HEIs) over the last two decades, and research has shown that teacher leadership (TL) is an essential aspect of providing quality higher education. This study proposed a model to explain TL and the factors that contribute to it in private HEIs. A sample of 4,152 participants responded to an 11-item questionnaire using a 5-point scale designed to measure three variables: TL, teacher self-efficacy (TSE), and teacher competence (TC). The results showed that the three variables were valid in explaining TL and the factors that contribute to it. Hypothesis tests revealed that both hypotheses were supported. Finally, the results revealed that TSE and TC are both significantly associated with TL. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings and the scope for future research are discussed.

Using data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS; 2013), this article explores teachers’ needs, support, and barriers in their professional development. The research finds that Australian teachers expressed greater needs in information and communication technology (ICT) use and new technology training for teaching, while Shanghai teachers required more assistance to satisfy students’ individual learning and pedagogical competencies. More than 80% of Australian and Shanghai teachers received scheduled time to support their participation in professional development, whereas less than 20% of Australian and Shanghai teachers received monetary or nonmonetary support. In terms of barriers, Australian and Shanghai teachers reported two significant barriers that conflicted with their participation in professional development: “working schedule” and “a lack of incentives to take part.” This article reveals implications of the study in the design of an effective professional development program for Australian and Shanghai teachers and ends with discussing the limitations of the research and future research directions.