Chapter 1 : Introduction 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Background to the Study 3
1.3 Higher Education in China 6
1.3.1 Overview of the development of Chinese education 6
1.3.2 Structure of the higher education system in China 8
1.3.3 TEFL academics in Chinese universities 10
1.3.4 Social and political status of academics 10
1.3.5 Appointment of academic staff 12
1.3.6 Academic staff assessment 13
1.3.7 Promotion 14
1.3.8 Academics' salaries 14
1.3.9 Workload 16
1.3.10 Working conditions 17
1.3.11 Academics' professional development 17
1.4 The Study 19
1.5 Significance of this Research 20
1.5.1 The researcher's position 23
1.6 Northern University 23
1.6.1 Organisational structure of Northern University 24
1.6.2 The two research sub-sites 26
1.6.3 English teaching at Northern University 27
1.7 Aims of the Study 28
1.8 The Research Questions 29
1.9 Structure of the Thesis 29
Chapter 2 : Literature Review 31
2.1 Overview 31
2.2 Theories of Teachers' Motivation 32
2.2.1 Achievement Goal Theory 33
2.2.2 Seff-efficacy Theory 34
2.2.3 Expectancy Value Theory 35
2.2.4 Attribution Theory 36
2.2.5 Self-Determination Theory 38
2.3 Application of Self-Determination Theory 40
2.3.1 Basic psychological needs 40
2.3.2 Role of goals in achieving needs 44
2.3.3 Wellbeing 46
2.3.4 Cross-cultural studies of Self-Determination Theory 50
2.3.5 The limitation of Self-Determination Theory 53
2.4 Studies on the Motivation of TEFL Academics in China 54
2.5 Summary 56
Chapter 3 : Conceptual Framework for the Study 58
3.1 Overview 58
3.2 Self-Determination Theory 58
3.2.1 The continuum of motivation 60
3.2.2 Autonomous motivation 63
3.3 Organisational Culture 64
3.4 Definitions of Organisational Culture 65
3.4.1 University culture 66
3.4.2 The levels of university culture 66
3.5 Confucian Moral Standards and Organisational Culture 68
3.6 A Framework for Organisational Culture 71
3.6.1 Competing Values Framework 72
3.7 Assessment of Organisational Culture 77
3.8 Empirical Studies in University Culture 78
3.9 Empirical Studies in Competing Values Framework 79
3.10 The Framework of the Study 80
3.11 Summary 83
Chapter 4: Methodology and Methods 85
4.1 Overview 85
4.2 Methodology 85
4.3 Research Design 89
4.4 Participants 90
4.5 Measures 91
4.5.1 Demographic questionnaire 91
4.5.2 Research questionnaires 92
4.6 Procedure 97
4.7 Data Analyses 102
4.7.1 Preliminary analyses 102
4.7.2 Primary analyses 103
4.8 Reliability and Validity 105
4.9 Ethics 108
4.10 Summary 108
Chapter 5 : Quantitative Data Analysis 109
5.1 Preliminary Analyses 110
5.1.1 Demographics 110
5.1.2 Descriptive analyses 113
5.1.3 Correlation 116
5.2 Primary Analyses 118
5.2.1 Research question 1 118
5.2.2 Research question 2 119
5.2.3 Research question 3 122
5.3 Summary 126
Chapter 6: Qualitative Data Analysis 128
6.1 Profile of Interview Participants 129
6.2 Findings from the First Round of Interviews 132
6.2.1 Need for competence 132
6.2.2 Need for autonomy 136
6.2.3 Need for relatedness 140
6.3 Findings from the Second Round of Interviews 147
6.3.1 Dominant characteristics 148
6.3.2 Management of employees 152
6.4 Summary 158
Chapter 7 : Discussion and Conclusion 162
7.1 Purpose of the Study 162
7.2 Conceptual Framework and Methodology 163
7.3 Summary of the Key Findings 165
7.4 Discussion of the Findings 171
7.4.1 The influence of personal experiences on motivation 171
7.4.2 The influence of social contextual culture on motivation 174
7.4.3 The impact of organisational culture on motivation 178
7.5 Implication for Theory 181
7.6 Implications for Practice 183
7.6.1 Enhancing the salary of TEFL academics 183
7.6.2 Improving leadership 184
7.6.3 Developing resources 184
7.6.4 Satisfying the three basic psychological needs 185
7.7 Limitations of the Study 186
7.8 Future Research Direction 187
References 189
Appendices 220
Appendix A: Demographic questionnaire 220
Appendix B: The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers 222
Appendix C: Basic Psychological Needs Scales at Work (BPNS-W) 224
Appendix D : Subjective Vitality Scales (SVS) 227
Appendix E : Aspirations Index (AI) 228
Appendix F: Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCM) 231
Appendix G: Letters to the leaders in two research sites 236
Appendix H : Information sheet 238
Appendix I: Example of the coding system 241
Appendix J: Demographic information of participants in interviews 242
Appendix K: The follow-up letter for the invitation of the interviewees 243
Appendix L: Consent form 245
Appendix M: Semi-structured interview schedule —Round 1 246
Appendix N: Semi-structured interview schedule —Round 2 250
Appendix O: Summary of interviews 253
Appendix P: Feedback from COE and studems in Semester 1, 2008 255