Introduction

Wellbeing or happiness has been a paramount concern of thinkers since ancient times as witnessed in much of Greek philosophical writings (Keyes, 2006), and Aristotle has been cited as the first one who wrote that wellbeing is the whole aim and end of human existence (Csikszentimihalyi, 1990, 1999). Such concern has been followed by the researchers of the modern psychology and economics, and became a topic of scientific inquiry rather than philosophical analysis. A growing number of studies on wellbeing broaden the field into an interdisciplinary one. Based on the analysis of wellbeing researches, Ryan and Deci (2001) suggested that there are two paradigms for empirical inquiry into wellbeing: hedonism and eudaimonism. 

Although the wellbeing researches paradigms or traditions have evolved separately (Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002), connections between the two are obvious. Both two paradigms focus on an individual person, regardless of personal feeling of happiness or personal growth. Adopting a cultural psychological approach, Lu and Gilmour (2004) suggest that conceptions of happiness is embedded in culture, and wellbeing in Euro-American culture is more individual oriented rather than socially oriented. Another study of Lu(2001) also finds that happiness in the Chinese culture is a state of being "where one maintains a harmonious relationship with oneself, and with the environment"(p. 419). Another interesting phenomenon is that there seems a propensity of including the causes of wellbeing in its conceptions when Chinese people discuss happiness, and benefiting other people and society is of fundamental importance to one's wellbeing. In other words, Chinese or Asian people view wellbeing from a perspective of relationship or "others" instead of a perspective of individual or "I".

In the field of teacher wellbeing, similar difference exists among western countries and China (Liu, 2014). Compared with that the studies in the English-published texts demonstrated a trend for the primacy of the individual, Chinese-published texts viewed the relational or collective as more central to teacher wellbeing (Klusmann et al., 2008; Mattern & Bauer, 2014; Gao, Zheng, & Yan, 2010; Wu, 2011; Xiao, 2004). In view of Chinese teachers, "altruism" or "benefiting others" is an important element or cause of their wellbeing. Some researches of western have focused on the relationship between altruism and wellbeing, but most of them studies on old age, couple, or parent-child (Hisnanick & Coddington, 2000; Kahana et al., 2004; Brinkman, 1989). Prior studies in western literature about teacher wellbeing have told us little about the effect of altruism on teacher wellbeing, while the related quantitative studies in Chinese literature is also few. Therefore, in this paper, we have not only studied some key variables' impact on teacher wellbeing but also the moderating effect of altruism.

Research Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1. Teachers’ altruistic value to teaching and students has a significant and positive direct influence on their subjective wellbeing and self-efficacy beliefs.

Hypothesis 2. Teachers’ satisfaction to employee benefits has a significant and positive direct effect on their subjective wellbeing and  self-efficacy beliefs.

Hypothesis 3. Self-efficacy is a positive predictor of subjective wellbeing.

Hypothesis 4. Self-efficacy mediates the influence of altruism and satisfaction to employee benefits on subjective wellbeing.

Hypothesis 5. The prediction of satisfactions to employee benefits to their subjective wellbeing is negatively moderated by altruism. 

Hypothesis 6. The positive relationship between self-efficacy and subjective wellbeing is strengthened by the increase of the levels of altruism.

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