Factors Influencing Primary School Banzhurens’ Job Satisfaction - A Mixed Method Study in Gongyi City, China
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2025
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In primary and middle schools in China, each child is allocated to a class that has a teacher designated as a banzhuren who is responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of that specific class of students. Due to the low levels of job satisfaction among banzhuren, there has been a rising number of complaints, and school leaders are increasingly facing challenges in appointing teachers to this role. This study employed a sequential, mixed quantitative and qualitative research method to explore the factors influencing banzhurens’ job satisfaction, the working dilemmas they face, and potential solutions for improvement.
The quantitative part examined relationships among banzhurens’ self-efficacy, burnout and job satisfaction by drawing on 624 primary school banzhurens from Gongyi City (in Henan province of China) who participated in an online survey. The data were analysed through structural equation modelling. The results showed that (1) banzhurens’ burnout had a negative influence on their self-efficacy and job satisfaction; (2) banzhurens’ job satisfaction was positively influenced by self-efficacy; and (3) banzhurens’ self-efficacy could mediate the negative influence from burnout and thus enhance job satisfaction.
In the qualitative part, seven banzhurens were interviewed about their work practices. The results indicated that (1) these banzhurens bore more responsibilities and a wider job scope than subject specialist teachers; (2) the overwhelming workload and job responsibilities caused burnout, which further harmed their job satisfaction; and (3) other influences on their job satisfaction were stress, excessive non-teaching-related tasks, and insufficient reward.
Based on the overall findings, four potential solutions for enhancing banzhurens’ job satisfaction and professional development are proposed. First, a more reasonable career promotion path could be established for banzhurens, making this position more attractive. Second, schools could provide a more supportive environment for work and professional development for banzhurens. Third, a position of teaching assistant could be established to share the banzhurens’ administrative load. Finally, school leaders could enhance banzhurens’ job satisfaction by increasing their self-efficacy through improving their ability to communicate with school management teams.
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