Trapped in the “Hamster Wheel”: Involution Dilemma Induced by Teacher Competitive Policies in Rural China

• In Event: Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Lived Experiences

Abstract

This study examined the involution dilemma and mechanisms confronted by rural teachers in China under the competition-oriented policies. Using three-year tracking data, analyses showed that competitive policies had triggered the wheel of involution, inducing increased teacher workload, burnout and declined professional ability. Three mechanisms - goal homogenization, competition intensification, and deprivation of teachers' professional value - sustained the self-perpetuating cycle of involution. The first two led to teachers' self-regulation and involvement in involution, making it impossible for them to stop exerting extra efforts. Simultaneously, teachers’ diminished professional value undermined their fundamental source of ability development, ultimately trapping themselves in the quagmire where “the harder they try, the deeper they sink”.

Authors

• Yuqing Wu, Beijing Normal University

• Qian Zhao, Beijing Normal University