Abstract
The education of the elderly, with its primary mode in the form of the University of the Third Age (U3A), has been proven to be an effective tool to address the ageing population in China. However, due to the disadvantages such as teachers’ low salaries, the Chinese U3As are encountering a high teacher turnover and insufficient teaching force, significantly affecting the quality and development of the education for older adults in China. It becomes essential to study teacher wellbeing as it impacts the quality of education, as the institutions require teachers’ optimal status to function well and to cater to the increasing educational needs of older adults. However, studies have mainly focused on the wellbeing of teachers who teach younger learners; few have ever been concerned about the wellbeing of teachers in the context of elderly learners.This study investigated the wellbeing of teachers in the Chinese U3As by adopting an explanatory sequential mix-methods design. 602 questionnaires were administered and collected from 18 U3As in Ningbo, China, which was followed by in-depth interviews with 31 teacher participants. Explanatory factor analysis was used to explore the theoretical structure underpinning teacher wellbeing and T-tests and ANOVA tests were conducted to compare the different wellbeing states among teachers of various demographic variables. The interview data further explained and enhanced the quantitative results by providing more nuanced descriptions of teachers’ interpretations and experiences. The results showed that the wellbeing of teachers in the Chinese U3As is significantly shaped by its context where Confucian and collectivistic cultural values were predominant. The theoretical structure of teacher wellbeing is more concerned with social responsibilities and self-regulation instead of the pursuit of pleasure. This result, through a cultural lens, contributes to the theoretical understanding of teacher wellbeing in the Chinese U3As, which supplements the existing wellbeing models primarily derived from the Western theories. The results also uncovered challenges (including low salary, insufficient professional support and lack of career prospects) and resources (including older learners’ passion and social resources, high autonomy, low work requirement for teachers, and family support) that influence teacher wellbeing, which informs the relevant stakeholders of important factors that need to be addressed to face the challenges of unstable and insufficient teaching force in the Chinese U3As.
| Date of Award | 20 Aug 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Ashley Ng (Supervisor) & Fui Theng Leow (Supervisor) |