An Investigation into the Occupational Well-Being of Chinese School Teachers

The desire, pursuit, possession and enjoyment of occupational well-being not only represent the important dimension of teachers’ career development, but also the basic right of their career life. The continuous promotion of the improvement of teachers’ occupational well-being is both the value orientation and key point focused by education policies on teachers formulated by the Party and the government, but also the earnest expectation of the country, society and families with the restriction of the traditional culture that emphasizes the importance of teachers and education, as well as the hot topic in the field of educational research in the context of facing and seeking the long-term goal of realizing educational modernization in 2035. Based on the survey of 33,590 teachers of primary and secondary schools from 31 provinces and cities (including 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities), it is found that the development trend of occupational well-being of China's primary and secondary school teachers is shown as follows: The overall level is high, with an uneven horizontal and static dimension and an upward trend of longitudinal dynamic development with twists and turns. In terms of teachers’ occupational well-being, there are “hidden worries” in optimism, “difficulty to express love” in nobility, “lattice collapse” in the high index of well-being, “moral kidnapping” in value pursuit, and “degradation” of implementation of educational policies implicated by implicit appeals of salary and treatment. Improving professional competency, shaping professional dignity, offering professional guarantee, consolidating professional status, and strengthening professional stipulation are strategic measures to improve teachers’ occupational well-being.