Abstract Public kindergartens are crucial for the universal accessibility and high-quality development of preschool education in China, with non-staff teachers serving as the driving force of teaching. The level of non-staff teachers’ work engagement directly impacts the quality of education and the development of children, eventually affecting the realization of these goals. Drawing from social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, this study surveyed 429 non-staff teachers in public kindergartens in China. The survey was conducted using the Occupational Identity Questionnaire for Non-Staff Teachers, the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, the Teaching Efficacy Scale, and the Work Engagement Questionnaire. Key findings are as follows: (1) The occupational identity, perceived organizational support, teaching efficacy, and work engagement of non-staff teachers in public kindergartens exhibit significant positive correlations. (2) Occupational identity serves as both a direct and an indirect predictor of work engagement, with perceived organizational support and teaching efficacy playing a chain-mediating role in the relation between occupational identity and work engagement. These findings suggest that the level of work engagement among non-staff teachers in public kindergartens can be increased by enhancing occupational identity, perceived organizational support, and teaching efficacy. This study provides valuable insights for addressing the identity differentiation of teachers in a dual employment system and reforming the hiring system of preschool teachers, contributing to a more equitable and high-quality development of preschool education in China and worldwide.
Tian et al. (2025) studied this question.