A Comparative Study on Professional Identity and Teacher Professionalism between Chinese and Korean Pre-service Teachers: With a Discussion on the Limitations of Cross-Cultural Comparison
Abstract
This study systematically investigates the structural characteristics, group differences, and cross-cultural measurement equivalence of professional identity and teacher professionalism among pre-service teachers in China and Korea. Drawing on a review of the literature, the study constructs a professional identity model encompassing four dimensions, namely professional value, professional affect, professional commitment, and professional behavioral tendency, as well as a teacher professionalism model covering four dimensions: knowledge base, pedagogical ethics, autonomous reflection, and collaborative development. A questionnaire survey was administered to approximately 600 pre-service teachers in each country, yielding a total of 1,182 valid responses. Using confirmatory factor analysis, multi-group measurement invariance testing, and structural equation modeling, the study estimates the reliability and validity of the scales in both national samples and examines configural, metric, and scalar invariance through chi-square difference tests and the "ΔCFI" criterion. Empirical results show that pre-service teachers in both countries demonstrate high levels of professional identity across all subdimensions; however, Chinese pre-service teachers score significantly higher than their Korean peers on the professional value and professional commitment dimensions, while Korean pre-service teachers score slightly higher on the autonomous reflection dimension of teacher professionalism. Measurement invariance testing supports only partial scalar invariance, indicating systematic intercept shifts for certain items across the two national contexts and suggesting that direct mean comparisons may be misleading. The study further discusses the limitations of cross-cultural comparison regarding theoretical assumptions, instrument adaptability, and interpretive boundaries, providing a methodological reference for international dialogue in future teacher education research.