Taiwanese Preschool Teacher Education Students’ Attributions for Studying, Occupational Knowledge, and Initial Teaching Commitment

Abstract

This study examines Taiwanese preschool teacher education (PTE) students' attributions for studying in PTE, occupational knowledge, and initial teaching commitment, as well as the effects of the former two variables on the latter one. The study used mixed-methods which included questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews. The Taiwanese PTE students (N=1463) responded to questionnaires, and eight of them were selected as the interviewees. The findings indicate that PTE students tended to predominantly attribute their PTE studying to personal factors in the internal attributional style, had substantial but incomplete occupational knowledge, and demonstrated moderately strong initial teaching commitment. The PTE students' attributions for studying in PTE and occupational knowledge had significant influence on their initial teaching commitment, and PTE studying attributions to personal factors was the most powerful predictor. The PTE students with more studying attributions to personal factors and more professional knowledge about occupational competency and occupational qualifications tended to display stronger initial teaching commitment.

Career Exploration and Career Decision Self-Efficacy in Northwest Chinese Pre-service Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Work Volition and Career Adaptability

“…The Chinese government attached great importance to the training and employment of KG teachers (e.g., Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2018 ). Thus, the career development of pre-service KG teachers has attracted much attention over the past few years in China ( Wu, 2011 ). Chinese government enacted relevant policies to improve pre-service KG teachers’ training system and optimize employment conditions to guide them into this profession ( Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2018 ).…”

“…In spite of these outstanding achievements, the career development of pre-service KG teachers is unpredictable. There is a high demand for KG teachers on the job market, yet the recognition of KG teachers as a professional career has not been established in the wide community ( Jiang, 2005 ; Wu, 2011 ; Boyd, 2013 ; Taleb, 2013 ). In China, pre-service KG teachers are still confronted with considerable career barriers when making a career decision, such as unsatisfactory salary level, low social status, little recognition of professional status, ambiguous professional identity, limited employment opportunities, and uncertain long-term career development path ( Hu, 2020 ; Li and Li, 2020 ), and these may dampen their confidence in career selection and ultimately influence their career options ( Kantamneni et al, 2018 ; Brown and Lent, 2019 ; Ulas and Yildirim, 2019 ).…”

“…Career adaptability is an essential resource for individual career development, especially when confront with challenges in work ( Johnston et al, 2016 ), and may increase the chances of graduates finding suitable jobs and facilitating the transition from school to work ( Koen et al, 2012 ; Rudolph et al, 2017 ). It is vital to explore how career adaptability resources may relate to vocational development, especially for those who faced advanced school-to-work transition because a long-term internship is a prerequisite, such as pre-service KG teachers ( Wu, 2011 ).…”