Introduction Against the backdrop of ongoing school physical education reform and the Physical Education Entrance Examination in China, junior high school physical education teachers are facing increasing instructional and training demands, making their positive occupational functioning an important issue. This study examined the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and thriving at work among junior high school physical education teachers in China and tested the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among junior high school physical education teachers, and 609 valid responses were obtained. The instruments included the Physical Education Teachers’ Teaching Efficacy Scale, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale, and the Thriving at Work Scale. Data were analyzed using reliability and validity tests, a common method bias test, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and PROCESS mediation analysis. Results Teacher self-efficacy was positively associated with thriving at work and basic psychological need satisfaction. Basic psychological need satisfaction was also positively associated with thriving at work. Mediation analysis showed that basic psychological need satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and thriving at work. Discussion These findings indicate that higher teacher self-efficacy not only directly promotes thriving at work among junior high school physical education teachers, but also indirectly enhances vitality and learning through increased basic psychological need satisfaction. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding the formation mechanism of positive occupational functioning among junior high school physical education teachers and offers practical implications for promoting their professional development and psychological support in the context of school physical education reform.
Li et al. (Wed,) studied this question.