What motivates rural teachers to retain? A study on Chinese rural teachers' turnover from grounded theory and FsQCA

This research is aim at a deeper understanding of factors that leading Chinese rural teachers' (CRTs) turnover in their profession. The study regarded in-service CRTs (n = 408) as the participants, adopted the semi-structured interview and an online questionnaire to collect the data, and used grounded theory and FsQCA to analysis the data based. We have found that (A) welfare allowance, emotional support, and working environment can be substituted equivalently to increase CRTs' retention intention while professional identity regarded as the core condition; (B) career development is neglected for two reasons: one is CRTs compensated for inadequate social support by self-improvement; another is CRTs adapted themselves to accept professional stagnation; (C) the CRTs will have a strong intention to retain but lack enthusiasm for teaching because lack professional identity when the external environment is favorable. This study clarified the complicated causal relationships between CRTs' retention intention and its factors, contributed to the practical development of CRTs workforce.

Automated summary

This research aims to gain a deeper understanding of the factors leading to turnover among Chinese rural teachers (CRTs). The study involved 408 in-service CRTs as participants, using semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire to collect data. Grounded theory and FsQCA were employed for data analysis. The study found that welfare allowance, emotional support, and working environment can be equally substituted to increase CRTs' intention to stay, with professional identity as the core condition. Career development was neglected due to compensation for inadequate social support through self-improvement and acceptance of professional stagnation. When the external environment is favorable, CRTs may have a strong intention to stay but lack enthusiasm for teaching due to lack of professional identity. This study clarifies the complex causal relationships between CRTs' retention intention and its factors and contributes to the practical development of the CRTs workforce.