Living conditions, working conditions, professional development and self-identity in Chinese rural primary school teachers: A chain-mediating model

Abstract

The mobility of rural teachers has a significant influence on education quality, while teachers’ self-identity plays a significant role in their mobility. Teachers’ self-identity impacts whether they are willing to stay in rural areas and become teachers, highlighting their identification with the rural areas; meanwhile, their professional identity influences whether teachers are willing to become teachers in rural schools, emphasising recognition of the rural school. Working conditions in rural schools and the living conditions in rural areas can have a great impact on rural teachers. This study explored the data of 1,420 rural teachers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, a typical Chinese rural area, where almost half of primary school teachers are rural teachers. Using structural equation modelling, the data show that living conditions can have positive direct effects on self-identity, and professional development can affect self-identity positively as a mediating variable. Working conditions and professional identity are mediating variables that can have a positive effect on self-identity. However, the relationship between working conditions and professional development is not significant. The policy should promote the development of rural areas, enhance schools’ hardware, and provide assistance to teachers to facilitate professional development and ultimately enhance their self-identity.

Cited as:

Jiang, J., Zhang, H., Huang, J. (2024). Living conditions, working conditions, professional development and self-identity in Chinese rural primary school teachers: A chain-mediating model. Education and Lifelong Development Research, 1(4): 180-191. https://doi.org/10.46690/elder.2024.04.03

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