Why Excellent Teachers Take Root in the Rural Area: From the Perspective of Emotional Geographies Theory

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Abstract

This study examines the emotional factors affecting excellent teachers’ retention in the rural country through the theory of emotional geographies. Through in-depth interviews with 15 excellent rural teachers in Y County, this research reveals that emotional belonging, emotional support, emotional attachment and emotional motivation have a positive influence on teachers’ retention in rural countries. Notably, emotional attachment between rural teachers and students is the most important factor in teachers’ retention. This study suggests that when selecting rural teachers, the government, should consider not only external economic incentives but also their internal emotional experiences and nice relationships between rural teachers and students. By providing teachers better emotional experiences, we could retain and attract more excellent teachers to take root in rural areas.

Authors

• Wanpeng Lei, Central China Normal University

• Zihan Wang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong