Relationships Between Kindergarten Teachers’ Empowerment, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Climate: A Chinese Model

This study investigated the relationships between perceived teacher empowerment, job satisfaction, and organizational climate among 206 randomly sampled kindergarten teachers in Shanghai, China. Chinese versions of the School Participant Empowerment Scale, the Teacher Work Satisfaction Survey, and the Organizational Climate Scale were validated and administered. Statistically significant relationships were found between teacher empowerment, job satisfaction, and organizational climate. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that (1) teacher empowerment and job satisfaction predicted organizational climate, (2) teacher empowerment predicted teacher job satisfaction, and (3) job satisfaction partially mediated the association between teacher empowerment and organizational climate. The results obtained in this Chinese setting were inconsistent with the findings of most Western studies. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.