Although numerous studies have documented associations between perceived organisational support and work engagement, the potential explanatory processes involving role stress and surface-acting remain insufficiently examined. Most prior research used variable-centred approaches, potentially overlooking heterogeneity among physical education (PE) teachers. The present study explored associations between perceived organisational support and PE teachers’ work engagement, as well as statistical pathways involving role stress and surface-acting. Guided by the job demands–resources (JD–R) model, both variable- and person-centred analyses were applied. A total of 376 PE teachers from China participated (Mage = 31.37, 43.4% male, 56.6% female). Teaching experience was distributed as follows: 158 teachers (42%) had 1–5 years, 109 (29%) had 6–10 years, 45 (12%) had 11–20 years, and 64 (17%) had over 20 years. Data were analysed using moderated mediation models and latent profile analysis (LPA). Variable-centred analysis indicated that role stress statistically accounted for part of the association between perceived organisational support and work engagement, while surface-acting moderated the statistical association between perceived organisational support and role stress. Person-centred LPA identified three profiles: low support/high surface-acting, high support/low surface-acting, and balanced. Teaching experience was statistically associated with profile membership, with the latter two profiles showing higher work engagement compared with the low support/high surface-acting group. Role stress statistically accounted for the engagement advantage of teachers with high support and low surface-acting relative to those with balanced profiles. These findings highlight the importance of organisational support that takes emotional labour and role stress into account when considering PE teachers’ work engagement and well-being.
AbósÁSevil-SerranoJHaerensL, et al. (2019) Towards a more refined understanding of the interplay between burnout and engagement among secondary school teachers: A person-centred perspective. Learning and Individual Differences72: 69–79.
BairdSChoonaraSAzzopardiPS, et al. (2025) A call to action: The second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. The Lancet405(10493): 1945–2022.
4.
BannaiAUkawaSTamakoshiA (2015) Long working hours and psychological distress among school teachers in Japan. Journal of Occupational Health57(1): 20–27.
5.
BolckACroonMHagenaarsJ (2004) Estimating latent structure models with categorical variables: One-step versus three-step estimators. Political Analysis12(1): 3–27.
6.
ChalghafNChenWTannoubiA, et al. (2022) Job disengagement among physical education teachers: Insights from a cross-sectional web-based survey with path modeling analysis. JMIR Formative Research6(12): e29130.
7.
ChenCCLiuTYChenHC (2024) Relationship between transformational leadership, work engagement, and organisational citizenship behaviour: The moderating effect of work engagement. Educational Studies 51(5): 915–934.
8.
ChengWWangZFangR, et al. (2023) The mechanism of leader-expressed humility on a physical education teacher’s work engagement – exploring the chain mediation effect of teacher efficacy and felt obligation. Sustainability15(12): 9297.
9.
China School Sports Development Report Editorial Committee. (2022) Report on the Development of School Physical Education in China (2019–2020). Beijing: Higher Education Press.
10.
CollieRJMartinAJMorinAJS, et al. (2021) A multilevel person-centred examination of teachers’ workplace experiences: Replication and extension with links to instructional support and achievement. Frontiers in Psychology12: 711173.
11.
ConleySYouS (2009) Teacher role stress, satisfaction, commitment, and intentions to leave: A structural model. Psychological Reports105(3): 771–786.
12.
DemeroutiEBakkerABNachreinerF, et al. (2001) The job demands-resources model of burnout. The Journal of Applied Psychology86(3): 499–512.
13.
DengQZhengBChenJ (2020) The relationship between personality traits, resilience, school support, and creative teaching in higher school physical education teachers. Frontiers in Psychology11: 568906.
14.
DiefendorffJMCroyleMHGosserandRH (2005) The dimensionality and antecedents of emotional labor strategies. Journal of Vocational Behavior66(2): 339–357.
15.
DingHJiangLLinX, et al. (2025) Association of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep and myopia in children and adolescents: A systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis. BMC Public Health25: 1231.
16.
EisenbergerRCummingsJArmeliS, et al. (1997) Perceived organisational support, discretionary treatment, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology82: 812–820.
17.
EisenbergerRHuntingtonRHutchisonS, et al. (1986) Perceived organisational support. Journal of Applied Psychology71(3): 500–507.
18.
EnsignJMays WoodsAMKulinnaPH (2018a) Entering the field of physical education: The journey of fifteen first-year teachers. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport89(1): 66–79.
19.
EnsignJMays WoodsAMKulinnaPH, et al. (2018b) The teaching performance of first-year physical educators. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy23(6): 592–608.
20.
EnsignJWoodsMA (2017) Navigating the realities of the induction years: Exploring approaches for supporting beginning physical education teachers. Quest (Grand Rapids, Mich)69(1): 80–94.
21.
GeraciADi DomenicoLIngugliaC, et al. (2023) Teachers’ emotional intelligence, burnout, work engagement, and self-efficacy during COVID-19 lockdown. Behavioral Sciences13(4): 296.
22.
GutholdRStevensGARileyLM, et al. (2020) Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: A pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1.6 million participants. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health4(1): 23–35.
23.
HayesAF (2013) Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
24.
HobfollSE (1989) Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist44(3): 513–524.
25.
HobfollSE (2001) The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology50(3): 337–421.
26.
HochschildAR (1983) The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
27.
IsenbargerLZembylasM (2006) The emotional labour of caring in teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education22(1): 120–134.
28.
KahnRLQuinnRP (1970) Role stress: A framework for analysis. In: McLeanA (ed) Occupational Mental Health. Chicago: Rand McNally, 50–115.
29.
KinderCJRichardsKATradAM, et al. (2023) Perceived organisational support, marginalisation, isolation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction of PETE faculty members. European Physical Education Review29(4): 475–492.
30.
KiremitciOBozBYildiz ÇakırL (2023) Job demands-resources model and burnout in physical education teaching: A mixed-method sequential explanatory study. Work76(1): 171–187.
31.
KuhnAPCarsonRLBeighleA, et al. (2021) Changes in psychosocial perspectives among physical activity leaders: Teacher efficacy, work engagement, and affective commitment. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education40(3): 484–492.
32.
LanzaSTCooperBR (2016) Latent class analysis for developmental research. Child Development Perspectives10(1): 59–64.
33.
LeeYH (2019) Emotional labor, teacher burnout, and turnover intention in high-school physical education teaching. European Physical Education Review25: 236–253.
34.
LeeYHChelladuraiPKangC (2018) Emotional labor in the dual role of teaching and coaching. Psychological Reports121(5): 952–973.
35.
LiHXiangXYiY, et al. (2024) Epidemiology of obesity and influential factors in China: A multicenter cross-sectional study of children and adolescents. BMC Pediatrics24: 498.
36.
LiSWangY (2024) The effect of job stress on secondary school physical education teachers’ work engagement: The mediating role of self-efficacy. Psychology in the Schools61(1): 364–379.
37.
MäkeläKHirvensaloMLaaksoL, et al. (2014) Physical education teachers in motion: An account of attrition and area transfer. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy19(4): 418–435.
38.
MengXHorrellAMcMillanP, et al. (2021) ‘Health first’ and curriculum reform in China: The experiences of physical education teachers in one city. European Physical Education Review27: 595–612.
NylundKLAsparouhovTMuthénBO (2007) Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal14: 535–569.
42.
PetersonMFSmithPBAkandeA, et al. (1995) Role conflict, ambiguity, and overload: A 21-nation study. Academy of Management Journal38(2): 429–452.
43.
PetiotOKermarrecG (2024) It’s like at the theater, you’re an actor: Physical education teachers’ surface acting during critical incidents experienced in ‘difficult’ contexts. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education: 1–11. DOI: 10.1123/jtpe.2024-0236.
44.
PetiotOKermarrecG (2025) Development of the situational emotional labor and deviance model: relevance in physical education and sport pedagogy. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy: 1–17. DOI: 10.1080/17408989.2025.2501580.
45.
PetiotOVisioliJKermarrecG (2023) The emotional labor of physical education teachers in ‘difficult contexts’: An inductive analysis of the most significant moments of their career. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy30(3): 266–281.
46.
PeughJFanX (2013) Modeling unobserved heterogeneity using latent profile analysis: A Monte Carlo simulation. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal20(4): 616–639.
47.
QinLHoWKYXuB, et al. (2025) Developing a model of quality physical education in the Chinese context: A grounded theory investigation of secondary school physical education teachers’ perceptions. Frontiers in Public Health13: 1569222.
48.
QiuC, 2015. The professional development of teacher educators in Shanghai. PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow, UK.
49.
RichardsKARWashburnNLeeYH (2019b) Understanding emotional labor in relation to physical educators’ perceived organisational support, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education39: 236–246.
50.
RichardsKARWashburnNSHemphillMA (2019a) Exploring the influence of perceived mattering, role stress, and emotional exhaustion on physical education teacher/coach job satisfaction. European Physical Education Review25(2): 389–408.
51.
RosenbergJBeymerPAndersonD, et al. (2018) tidyLPA: An R package to easily carry out latent profile analysis (LPA) using open-source or commercial software. Journal of Open Source Software3(30): 97.
52.
SakallıDŞenelE (2025) The role of marginalisation and role stressors in physical education teachers’ perceived mattering. European Physical Education Review31(1): 3–17.
53.
SangGYuanCWangM, et al. (2022) What causes burnout in special school physical education teachers? Evidence from China. Sustainability14(20): 13037.
54.
SatoTMcKayCKataokaC, et al. (2022) Japanese Physical education teachers’ workplace learning at middle schools in urban city school districts. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education13(2): 191–209.
55.
SchaufeliWBBakkerAB (2004) Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(3): 293–315.
56.
SchaufeliWBBakkerABSalanovaMJE (2006) The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement66(4): 701–716.
57.
SchaufeliWBSalanovaMGonzález-RomáV, et al. (2002) The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies3(1): 71–92.
58.
SchulzDGaudreaultKLSimontonKL, et al. (2025) Exploring perceived mattering in physical educators across the teacher career cycle: A focus on two stages. European Physical Education Review. DOI: 10.1177/1356336X251316761.
59.
ShenLZhuGJeanKM, et al. (2024) Exploring early career physical education teachers’ professional identity construction in rural China: Insights from socio-ecological perspective and practice architectures theory. Sport, Education and Society29(1): 58–73.
60.
ShovalEErlichIFejginN (2010) Mapping and interpreting novice physical education teachers’ self-perceptions of strengths and difficulties. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy15(1): 85–101.
61.
SoininenVPakarinenELerkkanenMK (2023) Reciprocal associations among teacher-child interactions, teachers’ work engagement, and children’s social competence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology85: 101508.
62.
SpicerCRobinsonDB (2021) Alone in the gym: A review of literature related to physical education teachers and isolation. Kinesiology Review10: 66–77.
63.
SunWHWangHZChenL (2016) Factors that affect and strategies that improve the sense of occupational happiness of elementary and middle school physical education teachers – an analysis based on the status of occupational survival of physical education teachers. Journal of Physical Education23(4): 106–109.
TingleyDYamamotoTHiroseK, et al. (2014) Mediation: R package for causal mediation analysis. Journal of Statistical Software59(5): 1–38.
66.
UpadyayaKSalmela-AroK (2020) Social demands and resources predict job burnout and engagement profiles among Finnish employees. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping33(4): 403–415.
67.
Van den BroeckAVander ElstTVBaillienE, et al. (2017) Job demands, job resources, burnout, work engagement, and their relationships: An analysis across sectors. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine59(4): 369–376.
68.
VenablesWNRipleyBD (2002) Modern Applied Statistics with S, 4th ed.New York: Springer.
69.
WesterlundREliassonI (2022) ‘I am finding my path’: A case study of Swedish novice physical education teachers’ experiences when managing the realities and challenges of their first years in the profession. European Physical Education Review28(2): 303–321.
70.
WhippPRTanGPTY (2007) Experienced physical education teachers reaching their “use-by date”: Powerless and disrespected. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport78(5): 487–499.
71.
WilsonWJHollandSKHaegeleJA, et al. (2021) Workplace experiences of adapted physical educators: A comparison of educators with and without national certification. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education40(2): 267–275.
72.
WoodsAMLynnSK (2014) One physical educator’s career cycle: Strong start, great run, approaching finish. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport85(1): 68–80.
WuYJLiuYLingWQ, et al. (2011) Testing the mediation effect of emotional labor among teachers under the framework of emotion regulation model. Psychological Development and Education27(3): 304–312. in Chinese.
75.
XanthopoulouDBakkerABDemeroutiE, et al. (2007) The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Stress Management14(2): 121–141.
76.
YangJQiuCLandiD, et al. (2025) Physical education and health curriculum reform in China: Empowering physical educators through professional learning. Sport, Education and Society: 1–15. DOI: 10.1080/13573322.2025.2505029.
77.
YinH (2016) Knife-like mouth and tofu-like heart: Emotion regulation by Chinese teachers in classroom teaching. Social Psychology of Education19: 1–22.
78.
ZhangT (2021) Under a growth-centered accountability system: A job demand and resource perspective for physical educators. European Physical Education Review27(4): 927–943.
79.
ZhangTChenA (2017) Developing a psychometric instrument to measure physical education teachers’ job demands and resources. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science21(3): 142–153.
