A grounded theory of teaching Suppression by Competition (TSC) in Chinese higher education

Utilizing a rigorous grounded theory approach, this study analyzes interviews with 13 early-career faculty in China to theorize the phenomenon of Teaching Suppression by Competition (TSC). It examines how state-orchestrated teaching competitions, designed to elevate pedagogy, paradoxically inhibit authentic pedagogical growth. The TSC framework reveals three core mechanisms for this paradox: the reduction of teaching to a judge-centric spectacle, the alienation of pedagogical purpose, and the ephemerality of contest-driven reforms. Findings demonstrate that institutional pressures for performative compliance and resultant role identity fragmentation exacerbate these effects, while faculty coping strategies fail to counteract systemic suppression. The study contributes a critical framework for understanding how performance-based incentives can undermine their own objectives in authoritarian managerial contexts. We argue for replacing competitive paradigms with collaborative, sustainable models of pedagogical co-development.