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Leading for Whom? Teaching-Research Officers’ Role Perception and Work Engagement in Chinese Mainland - Wei Shen (沈伟), Hongmei Ma (马红梅), 2022 (sagepub.com)
Article Information
Manuscript received: November 13, 2020
Revision received: December 19, 2020
Manuscript accepted: January 20, 2021
Published online: April 27, 2021
Issue published: September 2022
Author
Wei Shen (沈伟)
East China Normal University
Hongmei Ma (马红梅)
Central China Normal University
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyze both teaching-research officers’ (TROs) role perceptions and work engagement, figuring out how their competing roles are balanced to ensure continued work engagement and which roles have greater benefits to the community and educational reform.
Design/Approach/Methods: The study employs a questionnaire, which is composed of an inventory of work role requirements and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, to investigate TROs’ role perception, work engagement, and their relationship.
Findings: TROs’ work experience had a complicated relationship with their work engagement. The two strands of the TROs’ role orientation co-existed within their daily work and strengthened each other through exerting effects on the dedication and absorption aspects of work engagement. However, TROs concerned with teacher development displayed higher work engagement than those who put a greater emphasis on policy implementation.
Originality/Value: The study contributes to current research in three respects. First, it bridges the macro-level trend of education reform with micro-level role internalization of individuals. Second, it broadens our understanding of work engagement by linking it with the subjective perceptions of one’s work role. Finally, this Chinese case is expected to enrich international perspectives on teacher leaders in the context of top-down districtwide instructional reform.
Keywords
Role perception, teacher leader, work engagement