Journal of Education and Psychology

Abstract

This survey research is to investigate the differences of teachers’ playfulness, organizational playfulness climate, creativity, job satisfaction, and work performance in Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. It also compares the predictability of the factors of adult playfulness and organizational playfulness climate to teachers’ innovation, job satisfaction, and work performance in these three regions. There are 1,413 teachers (311 males and 1095 females; 687 in middle school, 713 in elementary school) involved in the study.

It is found that there is no significant difference of adult playfulness among teachers of the three regions. However, teachers from Taiwan perceive higher organizational playfulness climate than teachers in China, who perceive higher organizational playfulness climate than teachers from Hong Kong. Teachers’ innovation behavior is higher in China than Taiwan or Hong Kong. Teachers’ job satisfaction is higher in Taiwan than China or Hong Kong, but teachers from China perceive higher work performance than teachers from Hong Kong.

Among teachers of three regions, personal playfulness has the highest correlation with teaching innovation, and organizational playfulness climate has the highest correlation with job satisfaction. The personal factor of “love to create and to solve problems” best predicts teachers’ innovation and work performance. The climate factors of “supportive leadership”, “organizational flexibility and low criticism”, and “relaxing environment” best predict job satisfaction among teachers of three regions. The “persistence” and “self-content” factors don’t have any significant predicting influence. Other factors such as “humor” and “organizational flexibility and low criticism” even have negative influences in some of the predictions. Though there are many similarities among teachers of three regions, there are differences. Further discussions and suggestions are generated.

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