Preschool Teachers’ Occupational Stigma Consciousness Inhibits Work Engagement: A Moderated Mediation Model

The profession of early childhood education is often dismissed as unimportant or unworthy of respect. Preschool teachers’ occupational stigma consciousness has been shown to be associated with lower work engagement, but the mechanism of this association is unclear. Most research has focused on individual or organizational factors, with little consideration of individual-organization interactions. To address this shortcoming, we surveyed 1,672 preschool teachers in Henan Province, China, using the Occupational Stigma Consciousness Scale, Preschool Teacher Work Engagement Questionnaire, Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale, and Perceived Organizational Support Scale. The results of regression-based analyses supported a moderated mediation model in which preschool teachers’ occupational stigma consciousness predicted lower work engagement through the mediating effect of low resilience. Preschool teachers’ perceived organizational support moderated this process by strengthening the positive association between resilience and work engagement. This study provides insight into the negative impact of occupational stigma consciousness can be mitigated by building resilience and giving organizational support, which has potential applications for the professional development of early childhood education teachers.