The relationship of rural kindergarten teachers’ emotional intelligence and work engagement in China: the chain mediation role of emotional labor strategies and general self-efficacy

Emotional intelligence plays an important role in enhancing rural kindergarten teachers' work engagement and is closely related to their emotional labor strategies and self-efficacy. The Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), the Emotional Labor Strategies Scale (ELS), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were administered to 314 rural kindergarten teachers in Henan Province, a region in central China. The results found that (1) kindergarten teachers' emotional intelligence, emotional labor strategies, self-efficacy, and work engagement showed a significant positive correlation; (2) kindergarten teachers' emotional intelligence, emotional labor strategies, and self-efficacy all significantly and positively predicted their work engagement; and (3) further Bootstrap method analyses revealed a chain-mediating effect of emotional labor strategies and self-efficacy between emotional intelligence and kindergarten teachers' work engagement.