Kindergarten Teachers’ Mindfulness in Teaching and Morale: A Moderated Mediation Model

Objectives: This study examined whether kindergarten teachers’ psychological capital mediates the association between their mindfulness in teaching and their morale. Additionally, it investigated whether this mediating process is moderated by various aspects of the organizational climate in kindergarten. Method: A total of 614 Chinese kindergarten teachers completed self-report questionnaires assessing their perspectives regarding their mindfulness in teaching, psychological capital, morale, and organizational climate in kindergarten. Results: The results indicated that (1) kindergarten teachers’ mindfulness in teaching was positively associated with their morale; (2) psychological capital partially mediated the relationship between their mindfulness in teaching and morale; and (3) several aspects of organizational climate (principal upholding, principal restriction, teacher engagement, teacher intimacy, and teacher alienation) moderated the relationships between mindfulness in teaching, psychological capital, and morale. Conclusions: These results extend our understanding that the association between mindfulness in teaching and teacher morale is mediated by psychological capital and the above associations are moderated by the kindergarten organizational climate. The beneficial roles of psychological capital, principal upholding, teacher engagement, and teacher intimacy suggest that educational authorities could incorporate mindfulness and psychological capital training into their professional development programs to enhance teachers’ intrapersonal resource conservation. Principals and kindergarten managers could also create a positive kindergarten organizational climate, where principals are supportive and teachers are dedicated and intimate, to further develop teacher morale with positive contextual factors. Preregistration: This study was not preregistered.