Exploring the Rural-Urban Gap of Teacher Involvement in Inquiry-Based Working in China

• In Event: Bridging the Divides: Opportunities and Challenges for Rural Education in Diverse Contexts

Abstract

Improving rural teachers’ quality is meaningful for narrowing the inequality in educational outcomes between rural and urban schools. In this respect, supporting teacher involvement in inquiry-based working for their professional development could be a potential approach. However, previous studies revealed that rural teachers are facing disadvantages in the participation of inquiry-based working comparing with their urban colleagues. This study aims to explore the reasons of this rural-urban gap. Based on the data collected from 5566 primary teachers in 114 schools, we examine the multilevel mediation effect of school research culture and research infrastructure. Results reveal that school research culture mediates the rural-urban gap of teacher involvement in inquiry-based working. Implications of these results for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Authors

• Yuqiao Luo, Ghent University

• Martin M. Valcke, Ghent University

• Hanne Tack, Ghent University

• Huang Zuo, South China Normal University

• Ming Tang, 根特大学

• Ruben Vanderlinde, Ghent University