Abstract:

As prospective teachers, occupational calling in normal university students is of great significance to the development and stability of national education. Although many factors influencing occupational calling, there was a lack of empirical research that explored the potential causes of calling from the perspective of self-concept. Based on conservation of resources theory, self-concept, as a psychological resource, might promote the formation of occupational calling through the resource “gain spiral” mechanism. Through a one-year interval longitudinal survey, this research explored the joint effects of two core components of self-concept (i.e., self-esteem and self-concept clarity) on calling and the potential mechanisms in normal university students. The results revealed that: 1) Self-concept clarity (but not self-esteem) assessed one year ago positively predicted calling assessed one year later. 2) Presence of life meaning mediated the relationship between self-concept and calling. 3) Searching for life meaning moderated part of the mediating paths. That is, when the level of searching for meaning was low, the association between presence of meaning and calling was relatively stronger. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the influence factors and mechanisms of the formation of calling in normal university students, which may have practical implications for further education and intervention.

Key words: occupational calling, self-concept clarity, self-esteem, meaning in life, prospective teacher

摘要：

作为“准教师”，师范生职业使命感的培养对于教师队伍发展与稳定具有重要意义。职业使命感的影响因素很多，但目前较缺乏从自我概念视角探究其成因的实证研究。基于资源保存理论，自我概念作为一种心理资源，可能通过“增益螺旋”促进职业使命感的形成。通过间隔一年的追踪调查，探讨自我概念两个核心成分(自尊和自我概念清晰性)对师范生职业使命感的预测作用和机制。结果显示：(1)一年前的自我概念清晰性(而非自尊)直接正向预测一年后的职业使命感；(2)生命意义体验在自我概念与职业使命感之间起中介作用；(3)意义寻求显著调节意义体验与职业使命感的关系，即意义体验对职业使命感的正向预测作用在低意义寻求个体中相对较强。研究结果对于深入了解师范生职业使命感的成因和影响机制，从而进行针对性的教育干预具有较好的理论和现实意义。

关键词: 职业使命感, 自我概念清晰性, 自尊, 生命意义感, 师范生