Yi Yin

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The increasing emphasis on educational quality in higher vocational colleges has highlighted the importance of teachers’ professional development and competence. This study aims to investigate the effect of incentives on teachers’ competence, with professional identity serving as a mediator and self-efficacy as a moderator variable. A total of 497 Fu Dao Yuan Chinese university teachers filled out the online questionnaires from July 1 to August 31, 2025. The participants are active and have more than 1 year of teaching experience. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine research hypotheses. The incentive system has a positive effect on teachers’ professional identity and competence. Furthermore, incentives positively affect professional competence both directly and indirectly in relation to professional identity. Moreover, self-efficacy plays an inevitable role as a moderator in the relationship among the incentive system, teachers’ professional identity, and competence. The results provide evidence of the beneficial effect of incentives in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the education system, particularly teachers’ competence. The findings demonstrated that both economic and social values can significantly enhance teachers’ professional competence. Furthermore, the university should offer teacher career development and continuous professional development opportunities to support school growth and improve working conditions by providing essential office resources and logistical support.