Professional identity and self-rated caregiving performance among work-integrated childcare trainees and early-career practitioners: an indirect association through work engagement

Introduction This study examined associations among professional identity, work engagement, and self-rated caregiving performance among childcare trainees and early-career practitioners in China. Methods A cross-sectional survey included 318 participants recruited through 11 vocational colleges and 50 childcare institutions in Guangdong Province. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling assessed the measurement structure and associations, with bootstrapping and robustness analyses. Results The three-factor model showed good fit (CFI = 0.954, RMSEA = 0.039). Professional identity was positively associated with self-rated caregiving performance (total β = 0.694; direct β = 0.465), including an indirect association through work engagement (β = 0.229, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.128, 0.339]). Findings remained consistent across robustness analyses. Discussion Professional identity and work engagement were associated with more favourable self-appraisals of caregiving performance. The cross-sectional, single-source design precludes causal inference, and self-rated performance should not be equated with observed caregiving quality.