The impact of organizational inclusion on teachers’ internal motivation for professional development in vocational colleges: The case of China

Abstract

Most of the higher vocational colleges in China are public institutions. The government prefers to enhance the intrinsic motivation of teachers’ professional development through effective management. Taking the Chinese government’s strong advocacy of the professional value of the “craftsman spirit” as a background, this study aims to define the constituent factors of intrinsic motivation for the career development of higher vocational college teachers. This study proposes to explore the role of inclusive management styles on the professional development of teachers in public vocational institutions in order to address the hindering effects of human-organizational relationships on the intrinsic motivation of teachers’ professional development following Chinese management styles. Within three weeks, through the online questionnaire distribution platform, email, and WeChat, questionnaires were sent to teachers in colleges in Guangdong Province using the whole sampling method. A total of 546 questionnaires were distributed, of which 538 were retrieved and 521 were deemed valid for analysis. Using a structural equation model for data validation, the results indicate that inclusive leadership and inclusive climate are positive external factors that stimulate teachers’ intrinsic motivation for professional development (r = 0.496, 0.491) and contribute to the formation of organizational inclusion (r = 0.413). Job satisfaction is an intrinsic self-motivating factor (r = 0.479, 0.380, 0.451). Organizational inclusion can mitigate interpersonal barriers and become a practical management approach to enhance teachers’ intrinsic motivation for career development.