Research On Young Teachers’ Management In A Vocational College Based On Psychological Contract

In recent years, private higher vocational education has been gotten more and more attention. Behind the booming private colleges, their young teacher management issues become increasingly prominent. Psychological contract is a invisible bridge between private vocational colleges and young teachers. It is also an important factor affecting the behavior of young teachers. From previous studies, the majority of them only focus on the problem of university teachers’ psychological contract, young teachers’ psychological contract in private vocational colleges get less attention.This study takes young teachers’ characteristics and needs in private vocational colleges as the starting point. Based on extensive literature review and open-ended interviews, a "Psychological Contract of Young Teachers in Private Vocational Colleges" questionnaire with high reliability and validity was compiled. The survey mainly focused on young teachers in a private vocational college in Wuhan. The collected data were processed using SPSS17.0 and AMOS7.0. This study clarified the dimension of psychological contract of young teachers in the private vocational college, analyzed management problems of young teachers in the private vocational college and then put forward some effective strategies of young teacher management in private vocational college from a psychological contract’s view.The results of the study show that:(1) the content of young teachers’ psychological contract in private vocational colleges is three dimensions;(2) It includes: standard responsibility, developmental responsibility and interpersonal responsibility. Standard responsibilities of young teachers reflect their basic job requirements and material needs. Developmental responsibilities are focused on sustainable development of both sides and both sides should take responsibility for each other’s development. Interpersonal responsibilities reflect young teachers’ emotional needs, and concern on good interaction of both sides.(3) There are differences between young teachers’ cognition on the importance of the responsibility of the college and the actual performance of it, so that young teachers felt that the college didn’ t fulfill well on its responsibilities. The poorest seven responsibilities which the college didn’t fulfill well are: to let you participate in certain management and decision-making, to give you some teaching autonomy, to give attention to the status of teachers in the relationship between managers and teachers, to help you make a reasonable career planning, to pay attention to your rational proposals, to provide support and help to your scientific research and to help you get promotion on academic and career titles on these aspects. While there is no difference between young teachers’ cognition on the importance of the responsibility of themselves and the actual performance of them, so young teachers usually play a good performance in their work.(4) Gender, marital status and teachers titles did not affect young teachers’ emphasis on psychological contract; but young teachers’ degree and length of service had influence on their emphasis on psychological contract.(5) The main problems of young teachers’ management in private vocational colleges include: short-term educational goals of private vocational colleges, irrational internal management, simple and plain communication between managers and young teachers, one-sided and subjective evaluation system, single incentive system and young teachers’ lacking of career planning.Finally, this study proposed strategies of young teachers’ management in private vocational colleges from a psychological contract’s view: at the core of improving young teachers initiative to implement people-oriented management; strengthening effective ties and communications as safeguard to implement interactive management; establishing a fair performance appraisal system and right incentives as an objective to implement dynamic management; focusing on improving young teachers’ career planning to implement training-type management; creating a harmonious campus culture as highlights to implement intensive management.