Who Teaches in Rural Schools in Underdeveloped Areas? - An Investigation Based on a Survey of 5,554 Teachers from 117 Towns in H Province in Wuling Mountains Zone, China

Oct 15, 2026

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Teacher shortage blocks growth of rural education in underdeveloped areas and contributes to educational injustice. A survey collected data from 5,554 teachers across 117 towns in H Province in the Wuling Mountains Zone to examine rural teacher supply and the “hometown effects” hypothesis. Using a polynomial logit model, the study finds hometown effects across geographical, emotional, and institutional dimensions. Institutional effects are strongest, especially for teachers placed via supply augmentation programs, and policy support improves rural staffing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Rural teacher shortage and recruitment/retention challenges

Teacher supply augmentation measures in China

Who Teaches in Rural Schools in Underdeveloped Areas? An Investigation Based on a Survey of 5,554 Teachers from 117 Towns in H Province in Wuling Mountains Zone, China Tianjiao Zhang, 1 Weiping Wang,2 Li Yi3 1. Party School of Shanghai Xuhui District Committee of C. P. C., Shanghai 200030, China 2. Jingxiangyi Education Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang, China 3. Hunan First Normal University, Changsha 410000, Hunan, China Abstract. Teacher shortage is a major hindrance to China’s rural education growth in underdeveloped areas, as well as one of the main causes of educational injustice. We conducted a survey of 5,554 teachers from 117 towns in H province in the Wuling Mountains Zone to investigate the issue of rural school teacher supply. From geographical, emotional, and institutional perspectives, we used a polynomial logit model to examine the validity of the “hometown effects” hypothesis. The findings showed that hometown effects exist in China in all three dimensions. The institutional hometown effects are the most pronounced; when compared to open recruitment, teachers sourced through teacher supply augmentation programs (such as the Secondary Normal Graduates Program, Special Position Program, and Targeted Position Program) are more likely to teach in rural schools, particularly more disadvantaged village primary schools or teaching sites. China’s policy of increasing teacher supply has had a considerable positive influence on rural school staffing. Students from rural areas make better teacher candidates; feelings for hometowns should be encouraged among normal school or university students in pre-service education; and the implementation of teacher support policies should be emphasized to retain rural teachers and improve their teaching quality. Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2022; 11(1):1429-1448. | Doi: 10.15354/bece.22.or060. | | --- | | How to Cite: Zhang, T., Wang, W., & Yi, L. (2022). Who teaches in rural schools in underdeveloped areas? An investigation based on a survey of 5,554 teachers from 117 towns in h province in Wuling mountains zone, China. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 11(1):1429-1448. | Keywords: Rural Teachers, Hometown Effects, Teacher Supply Augmentation Policy, Teacher Shortage About the Authors: Weiping Wang, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310000, China. E-mail: [weipingzhang@hznu.edu.cn](weipingzhang@hznu.edu.cn) Li Yi, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha 410000, China. E-mail: [lily_yi2011@163.com](lily_yi2011@163.com) [Correspondence to:](Correspondence to: Tianjiao Zhang)[ Tianjiao Zhang](Correspondence to: Tianjiao Zhang), [Party School of Shanghai Xuhui District Committee of](Party School of Shanghai Xuhui District Committee of)C. P. C., Shanghai 200030, China. E-mail: [tjzhang17@fudan.edu.cn](tjzhang17@fudan.edu.cn) Funding: This study is supported by 1) the project of Research on the Strategies for Improving Basic Education After-school Service Quality in the Context of Double Reduction Policy, sponsored by Party School of Shanghai Committee ofC. P. C. (School of Administration) (2021SHB015); 2) the project of Research on the Strategies for Enhancing the IT-supported Instruction Skills of Local Public-funded Normal School Students in the Context of New Normal Education, sponsored by Hunan Provincial Department of Education (20C0411). 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 As per the teacher-to-class ratios in compulsory educatio

FAQs

What problem does the study address?

The study addresses rural teacher shortage in underdeveloped areas and its role in educational injustice.

How was the research conducted?

The authors surveyed 5,554 teachers from 117 towns in H Province and used a polynomial logit model to test the “hometown effects” hypothesis.

What does the study find about the “hometown effects”?

Hometown effects exist in China across geographical, emotional, and institutional dimensions, with institutional effects being the most pronounced.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr