Research on the Current Status and Enhancement of Preschool Teachers Psychological Capital and Job Satisfaction: Based on a Survey in a City of Shaanxi Province, China

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the connotative development of national preschool education, this study aimed to explore the characteristics, correlations, and influencing factors of kindergarten teachers psychological capital and job satisfaction, as well as to provide a basis
for policy-making. A total of 130 teachers were selected through stratified sampling from 6 kindergartens (3 public and 3 private) in a city of
Shaanxi Province. The research adopted the Local Psychological Capital Scale and Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, with data analyzed
using SPSS 25.0. The results showed a highly significant positive correlation between the two variables (r=0.757~0.860, P<0.01). Specifically,
work handling ability had the most significant impact on salary (r=0.811) and work-related social relationships (r=0.860). In addition, salary,
professional title, marital status, and staffing status exerted significant predictive effects on both psychological capital and job satisfaction. For
example, the mean psychological capital score of senior teachers (M=5.23) was higher than that of teachers without professional titles (M=4.40);
the mean job satisfaction score of married teachers (M=4.71) was higher than that of unmarried teachers (M=4.49). The conclusions indicated
that psychological capital is crucial for enhancing teachers professional experience. It is necessary to promote its improvement through coordinated measures such as implementing graded salary systems, optimizing professional title evaluation, safeguarding the rights and interests
of non-staff teachers, and advancing family-friendly policies.