Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity

Understanding teachers’ professional identity is significant for promoting their professional development, cultivating a high-quality teaching force, and achieving a high-quality education system. This paper empirically analyzes the impact of administrative pressure on teachers’ understanding of pro...

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Main Authors: Bao Zhu, Shiting Zhai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505258/full
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author Bao Zhu
Shiting Zhai
author_facet Bao Zhu
Shiting Zhai
author_sort Bao Zhu
collection DOAJ
description Understanding teachers’ professional identity is significant for promoting their professional development, cultivating a high-quality teaching force, and achieving a high-quality education system. This paper empirically analyzes the impact of administrative pressure on teachers’ understanding of professional identity based on data from the China Education Panel Survey using the order probit model to reveal the mechanisms at play in this relationship. Administrative pressure was found to inhibit teachers’ professional identity significantly. The conclusions hold after using conditional mixed regression to deal with endogeneity and robustness tests using various strategies. Heterogeneity analyses revealed that the inhibitory effect of administrative pressure was more pronounced for female teachers and teachers in rural areas. Mechanistic tests indicated two channels for this inhibition—by decreasing teachers’ job satisfaction and increasing teachers’ burnout. The moderating effects tests also showed that the inhibitory effect was relatively weaker when teachers’ interpersonal relationships were better. This study enriches and deepens our understanding of administration and teachers’ professional development, provides new empirical evidence for understanding how administrative pressure affects teachers’ professional identity, and provides a theoretical basis for educational administrations to formulate more effective educational policies and management strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-8fca967de69e45d8b089ebd33f5209832025-08-20T03:20:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-06-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15052581505258Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identityBao Zhu0Shiting Zhai1School of Finance and Accounting, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou, ChinaSchool of Humanities and Law, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou, ChinaUnderstanding teachers’ professional identity is significant for promoting their professional development, cultivating a high-quality teaching force, and achieving a high-quality education system. This paper empirically analyzes the impact of administrative pressure on teachers’ understanding of professional identity based on data from the China Education Panel Survey using the order probit model to reveal the mechanisms at play in this relationship. Administrative pressure was found to inhibit teachers’ professional identity significantly. The conclusions hold after using conditional mixed regression to deal with endogeneity and robustness tests using various strategies. Heterogeneity analyses revealed that the inhibitory effect of administrative pressure was more pronounced for female teachers and teachers in rural areas. Mechanistic tests indicated two channels for this inhibition—by decreasing teachers’ job satisfaction and increasing teachers’ burnout. The moderating effects tests also showed that the inhibitory effect was relatively weaker when teachers’ interpersonal relationships were better. This study enriches and deepens our understanding of administration and teachers’ professional development, provides new empirical evidence for understanding how administrative pressure affects teachers’ professional identity, and provides a theoretical basis for educational administrations to formulate more effective educational policies and management strategies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505258/fullprofessional identityadministrative pressureinterpersonal relationshipssecondary school teachersorder probit model
spellingShingle Bao Zhu
Shiting Zhai
Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity
Frontiers in Psychology
professional identity
administrative pressure
interpersonal relationships
secondary school teachers
order probit model
title Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity
title_full Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity
title_fullStr Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity
title_full_unstemmed Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity
title_short Administrative pressure, interpersonal relationships, and teachers’ professional identity
title_sort administrative pressure interpersonal relationships and teachers professional identity
topic professional identity
administrative pressure
interpersonal relationships
secondary school teachers
order probit model
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505258/full
work_keys_str_mv AT baozhu administrativepressureinterpersonalrelationshipsandteachersprofessionalidentity
AT shitingzhai administrativepressureinterpersonalrelationshipsandteachersprofessionalidentity