The Impact of Academic Optimism, Institutional Policy and Support, and Self-Efficacy on University Instructors’ Continuous Professional Development in Mainland China

The implementation of China’s Education Modernization Plan 2035 has signified the Chinese government’s commitment to advancing the quality of education. Recent studies have shown that the prioritization of instructor continuous professional development (CPD) through the Ministry of Education mandates has positively affected talent development and student achievement at the K12 level; however, examination of the reform’s impact on Chinese higher education is limited. This paper explored the effect academic optimism, institutional policy and support, and instructor self-efficacy had on instructors’ CPD within Chinese higher education institutions. This study collected data from 456 Chinese higher education instructors, employing a structural equation model to examine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Findings indicate academic optimism and institutional policy and support have a significant positive effect on CPD, β = .645 and .2, respectively, while instructor self-efficacy has nearly no effect on CPD, β = −.031. Institutional policy and support have a significant, influential effect on academic optimism, β = .652; however, there is nearly zero impact on instructor self-efficacy, β = .032. The implications of the findings indicate that institutional leadership is crucial in developing an academic culture that promotes and supports continuous professional development; however, individual drive to pursue CPD is limited.