Factors Influencing the Turnover Intention of Rural Preschool Teachers in the Context of Rural Revitalization - An Analysis Based on a Moderated Mediation Model

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Bulrr

Teacher retention is pivotal for advancing rural preschool education in China. A sample survey of 3,790 rural kindergarten teachers from 22 counties across 10 provinces examined how work stress and job apathy shape turnover intention, using validated scales. Results show work stress significantly predicts turnover intention, while job apathy mediates this relationship with a stronger indirect than direct effect. Bianzhi membership moderates both the direct impact of work stress and the mediating pathway through job apathy.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research Methodology

Research Data

The Common Method Bias Test

Convergent Validity, Composition Reliability and Discriminant Validity

The Direct Effect Test

Factors Influencing the Turnover Intention of Rural Preschool Teachers in the Context of Rural Revitalization: An Analysis Based on a Moderated Mediation Model Tao Wang, Mengzhuo Li, Shanhuai Liu, Xue Zhang China Institute of Rural Education Development, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin, China | Abstract: The retention of teachers is critical to the development of rural preschool education in China. We conducted a sample survey of 3790 rural kindergarten teachers from 22 counties (or cities) of 10 provinces and examined the effects of work stress and job apathy on the turnover intention of rural preschool teachers using the work stress, job apathy and turnover intention scales. According to the research findings, work stress can significantly predict rural kindergarten teachers’ turnover intention; job apathy plays a mediating role between job stress and teacher turnover intention, and the indirect effect is greater than the direct effect; Bianzhi membership can moderate the direct effect of work stress on teacher turnover intention and the mediating effect of job apathy.
Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2022; 11(2):1523-1527.
Doi: 10.15354/bece.22.ab005. | | --- | | How to Cite: Wang, T., Li, M., Liu, S., & Zhang, X. (2022). Factors influencing the turnover intention of rural preschool teachers in the context of rural revitalization: An analysis based on a moderated mediation model. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 11(2):1523-1527. | Keywords: Rural Preschool Teacher, Turnover Intention, Work Stress, Job Apathy, Bianzhi, Membership Correspondence to: Shanhuai Liu, China Institute of Rural Education Development, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin, China. E-mail: [liush477@nenu.edu.cn](liush477@nenu.edu.cn) Conflict of Interests: None. © 2022 Insights Publisher. All rights reserved. Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed by the Insights Publisher. Introduction The development of high-quality education is essential to rural revitalization and preschool education has a perennial effect on the overall development of rural students. Astable preschool teacher supply is an essential prerequisite for the progress of rural preschool education. Nevertheless, the loss of rural kindergarten teachers has become a prevalent concern of the community, and retaining preschool teachers in rural nursery schools is getting increasingly difficult. Numerous studies revealed that the high turnover rate of rural preschool teachers is mainly due to high job pressure and that heavy work burden leads to their negative emotional reactions. In addition, rural kindergartens employ a large number of teachers without Bianzhi (a system of officially budgeted posts in China) membership, who feel underpaid compared with their colleagues with the membership. Scholars have reached agreement that rural preschool teachers’ turnover intention is affected by work pressure and job apathy as well as the disparity in Bianzhi membership among them. To further clarify the relationships among work pressure, job apathy, Bianzhi membership, and rural preschool teachers’ turnover intention, this study used job apathy as a mediating variable and Bianzhi membership as a moderator variable to examine the effect of work stress on teacher turnover intention, with the objective of offering recommendations to policy makers on how to retain rural kindergarten teachers. Research Methodology The research team conducted a sample survey on rural kindergarten teachers from 22 counties (or cities) in China’s10 provinces in August 2020, using online questionna

FAQs

What role does Bianzhi membership play in the moderated mediation model?

Bianzhi membership moderates the direct effect of work stress on turnover intention and also moderates the mediating effect of job apathy.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Bulrr