Role Conflict and Adjustment: A Study on Duty Performance of Part-time Head Teachers in Chinese Universities

Abstract

Part-time head teachers in Chinese universities play an important role in managing student affairs and boosting development of students. In this study, 9 head teachers from G university in Hubei, China were invited to semi-structured interviews. The interview content is encoded and analyzed to build an analysis framework based on role theory. The study found that: head teacher’s role identification affects role taking in positively correlated manner; improved duty performance capability, innovative work methods and work attitude affect head teacher’s role taking; conflicts within, between and outside roles exist objectively and impact student development. Therefore, there is need to value head teachers’ work, enhance the sense of role identity; strengthen professional qualification training, improve role taking capability; strengthen organizational and personal coordination, and reduce role conflicts. Based on empirical methods, this study reveals role conflicts of part-time head teachers, and provides empirical materials for the management of student affairs in higher education in China.