Work

“From a Spark to a Flame”: How Educator Spirit Ignites and Sustains Professional Growth in China’s Publicly Funded PE Teachers

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Globally, cultivating professional values in teacher education remains a significant challenge. In China, this effort centers on the policy-driven “educator spirit,” yet the mechanisms by which the mandated ethos shapes professional development remain poorly understood. The present study adopts a constructivist grounded theory approach and, after interviewing 15 publicly funded physical education (PE) pre-service teachers, introduces the Growth Through Ethos Enactment (GTEE) model. The GTEE model demonstrates that educator spirit functions as a dynamic value resource that is clarified through experience, mediates the trajectory of vocational identity formation, and is recursively validated through a competence-based feedback mechanism. The model highlights a multi-layered developmental ecology where the transition from professional ideals to practical mastery is conditioned by both relational mentorship and the structural status of physical education. This model integrates values, identity, and competence into a coherent, non-linear framework, offering a diagnostic tool for designing teacher education ecosystems that foster a sustainable and resilient professional ethos.

Source: SAGE Open

DOI: 10.1177/21582440261472241

Authors: Wangjie Li, Tianxi Pan, Changhua Zhao

Institutions: Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang Vocational College of Agriculture

Language: English

Topic: Physical Education and Pedagogy

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,600