
==== Front
Heliyon
Heliyon
Heliyon
2405-8440
Elsevier

S2405-8440(24)12361-4
10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36330
e36330
Research Article
Why rural teachers are in a poor working state: Double marginalization causes a lack of career identity and hope
Han Xiaoxia
Yao Jin y1146630332@163.com
⁎
School of Education Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian, China
⁎ Corresponding author. y1146630332@163.com
16 8 2024
30 8 2024
16 8 2024
10 16 e3633030 4 2024
8 8 2024
13 8 2024
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
2024

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Professional development for rural teachers is currently encountering numerous challenges, leading to poor working conditions characterized by a lack of hope. This condition affects not only the quality of rural education but also the physical and mental well-being and work efficiency of rural teachers themselves. To explore why rural teachers experience poor working conditions, 101 of them were surveyed using a questionnaire that covered double marginalization, teacher career identity, and dispositional hope, and the results show the following. 1) Rural teachers’ poor work conditions are associated most strongly with double marginalization. 2) Career identity is an important mediating variable of double marginalization and hope for rural teachers. 3) The double marginalization faced by male teachers in rural areas compared to their female counterparts significantly amplifies the lack of hope. 4) Particularly pronounced is the lack of hope resulting from the double marginalization of rural teachers with less than 15 years of experience when compared to those with careers of 26 or more years. Building on these findings, interventions are proposed in three key areas: (i) reducing the double marginalization of rural teachers, (ii) strengthening career identity, and (iii) enhancing hope. These interventions offer feasible pathways tailored to the needs of educational administrators, teacher development departments, rural schools, and rural teachers themselves.

Keywords

Rural teacher
Double marginalization
Career identity
Hope
==== Body
pmc1 Introduction

Governments are committed to rural revitalization but from different starting points. In China, the reasoning is that “poverty alleviation starts with wisdom” [1]; in this reasoning, the starting point of rural revitalization is education, and the key to education is having a high-quality teaching team. In August 2020, China's Ministry of Education and six other departments promulgated the Opinions on Strengthening Rural Teacher Team Construction in the New Era, clearly stating the following aims: “Strive to, after 3–5 years of efforts, basically meet the demand for rural teachers in terms of quantity, significantly improve the quality level, significantly optimize the team structure, significantly improve their status, effectively protect their treatment, continuously enhance their career attractiveness, and rural villages in poor areas teacher team construction in poor areas is obviously strengthened.” Implemented officially on June 1, 2021, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Rural Revitalization once again emphasizes “attracting higher education graduates to teach in rural areas, and safeguarding and improving the treatment of rural teachers” [2]. With a series of policy interventions, the attractiveness of the teaching profession has continued to improve effectively from previously low levels.

However, even with the stimulus of strong national policies, rural areas still struggle to recruit qualified teachers; those who are recruited are difficult to retain, and those who are retained experience poor working conditions. This is now a common phenomenon in rural areas in various countries. Some have attributed this to the economic backwardness of rural areas [[3], [4], [5]] while others have argued that it is due to not economic shortages but the social spillover caused by the needs of professional role adjustment and transformation in rural schools, specifically knowledge, competence, and emotional conflicts in the transformation of teachers’ self-professional roles [[6], [7], [8]]. Why do rural teachers (RTs) experience such poor working conditions? Previous studies have often focused on external factors such as policies and environmental aspects as objective reasons; however, that approach may overlook some internal factors of RTs themselves, which ultimately are the fundamental reasons. Therefore, the present study explores the internal reasons for poor working conditions from the perspective of psychological factors of RTs, starting from objective phenomena. This in-depth analysis goes beyond previous research and provides a new perspective on understanding the challenges faced by RTs.

2 Literature review and hypotheses

2.1 Lack of hope

The poor state of work exhibited by rural teachers that is lack of hope. Hope is a positive state of motivation based on experiences at the intersection of agency (goal-directed energy) and path (plan to achieve the goal) [9,10]. Hope is a “state-like” variable that has a strong positive association with individual job performance, life satisfaction, mood, and physical and mental health [11,12]. Therefore, a lack of hope is extremely detrimental to the work and life of RTs.

Generating hope is related to the target situation and to the judgment and assessment of physiological arousal, such as the availability of developmental resources. This assessment occurs in an unconscious state [3]. Therefore, it has been found that the root cause of social spillover—driven by the need for teacher professional role adjustment and transition in economically backward rural areas—is the shortage of rural resources, both physical and psychological. This resource shortage makes it difficult to support teacher learning, growth, role adjustment, and transition and certainly difficult for individuals to assess their corresponding physiological arousal.

The theory of conservation of resources also argues that individuals tend to strive to acquire, maintain, nurture, and protect resources [13,14], but individuals with scarce primary resources are more likely to experience resource loss and have difficulty acquiring new resources, known as the resource loss spiral. When individuals experience a loss of resources at work, they are more likely to experience stress and stress reactions, including burnout, depression, and other physical and psychological outcomes [15]. In addition, the principle contains a motivational component. Because resource loss is accompanied by tension and stress reactions, individuals will try to take action to avoid it. Therefore, RTs face the loss of their own resources after they have been in rural schools for some time. To avoid this loss, they must reduce their work commitment while also increasing their available resources through investment. However, they find that there are not many channels in which to invest to increase their resources in the countryside, which negatively affects their goal finding, determination, and the assessment of physiological arousal in this environment. In general, they exhibit a state of hopelessness; this leads to a lack of motivation and career burnout, which not only exposes them to the adverse physical and psychological effects of stress but also adversely affects rural education China.

2.2 Lack of psychological resources due to double marginalization

In terms of material resources, China is making greater efforts to improve the treatment of RTs, increase the infrastructure of rural schools, standardize classrooms and equipment configurations, expand the channels for RT development, increase the quality of training, and more. Therefore, the material resources of RTs in China are constantly being supplemented and optimized, but their psychological resources have not been supplemented accordingly. Some studies have shown that merely increasing material resources has limited motivational effects on RTs [15,16]. so supplementing psychological resources is the key to generating hope in RTs.

A possible cause of this lack of psychological resources for RTs is that they suffer from double marginalization (DM), which refers to the fact that RTs have a non-mainstream existence in both cities and rural villages. When interacting with city people, RTs are treated as country people with low-quality, backward concepts who have difficulty in obtaining the same teacher training, advanced teaching philosophy, teaching techniques, and promotion paths as those of urban teachers. RTs may have even left a city of their own accord, leaving the increasingly inward-rolling standard path of teacher specialization [17,18]. Also, RTs find difficulties integrating in the countryside; villagers treat RTs as cultured people, part of a different social class that is respected but difficult to befriend, and they gradually become marginalized. In addition, after receiving advanced education and being exposed to prosperous city culture, RTs are reluctant to integrate into countryside culture [19].

Previous studies have not given much attention to DM; the nature of the research has meant that more attention has been given to rural marginalization (RM). Specifically, RTs are positioned as rural public service personnel [20], who are expected to have high expectations and face greater pressure while obtaining the corresponding status. Consequently, the contradictions between RTs and local culture and life are seen more easily. In fact, individual RTs might experience urban marginalization (UM) more deeply because being labeled as RTs disconnects them gradually from urban life, education, and work opportunities. They may even be subject to certain discrimination and prejudice, which may have a greater negative impact on them than does RM [21].

The theory of symbolic interactionism suggests that an individual's self-concept is constructed primarily through evaluations based on feedback from significant others. Thus, when RTs perceive that they are experiencing DM, they may internalize the marginalized perspectives that they receive. This may affect their self-worth and gradually lead them to exhibit behaviors consistent with marginalization, and reduce their value of and motivation for learning goals. This makes them waver in their goals in the midst of the rural environment and can negatively affect their judgments and evaluations of physiological arousal. In other words, it lowers their level of hope.

2.3 Career identity as a mediating variable

Career identity refers to an individual's affirmative evaluation of the career in which they are engaged. It is a person's internal perception that this career is valuable and meaningful and that they can find pleasure in it [22,23]. Teachers' career identities result from the continuous interaction between the individual teacher (self) and the environment (teaching profession) [24]. Therefore, this study argues that career identity may mediate the relationship between DM and hope for several reasons. First, RTs in a situation of DM feel that their psychological resources are being depleted but not replenished, and they may perceive this situation as being due to the rural teaching profession; this leads to disidentification with the rural teaching career. Second, individuals who do not identify with the rural teaching career will be less willing to continue teaching [22], lose interest in their current jobs, lack motivation, and even experience job burnout. They will want to leave their jobs to avoid more resource depletion, but before leaving, they will reduce their work input. The theory of work resources and engagement also suggests that when individuals do not have enough resources to support their work, their work engagement decreases, leading to lower performance [11]. Few of them will find new paths to solve the current problem, and because discovering a new path is akin to making a new investment, it comes with risk; if the investment does not bring a corresponding return on resources, then individuals will experience more stress and so be conservative, thus experiencing a lack of hope.

2.4 Research hypothesis

Considering these factors, the following hypotheses are proposed for this study, and the hypothesized theoretical model is shown in Fig. 1.H1 Rural teachers' double marginalization is negatively associated with their career identity and hope.

H2 Rural teachers' career identity mediates the relationship between double marginalization and hope.

Fig. 1 Hypothesized model of double marginalization (DM) and hope.

Fig. 1

3 Materials and methods

3.1 Participants

Considering economic factors and the representativeness of China's basic education system, three rural elementary schools in Nanjing (economically developed) and Huai'an, (economically underdeveloped) in Jiangsu Province were selected for this study. A sample of 101 RTs in these schools was selected randomly for this study, 57 of whom were male and 44 were female. A questionnaire was sent to the participants via the Internet, and they were asked to complete it within 30 min; all participants were given a reward of ¥100 upon completion. As calculated using the G*Power statistical software, the sample size of 101 in the situation with α = 0.05 and a power of 0.80 can detect a moderate effect size of f2 = 0.09, so the sample size of 101 is sufficient for calculating the corresponding results. Because of the relatively few young teachers (under 15 years of experience) in rural schools and more teachers with over 26 years of experience, we categorized the length of teaching experience into three groups: less than 15 years, 15–26 years, and over 26 years. Although all participants were RTs, they were categorized into two groups based on their residential location: those residing in rural areas and those residing in urban areas. The demographics of the participants are given in Table 1.Table 1 Demographic information.

Table 1Variable		n	%	
Gender	Male	57	56.44	
Female	44	43.56	
Working years	Less than 15 years	26	25.74	
15–26 years	29	28.72	
Over 26 years	46	45.54	
Residence	Rural	52	51.49	
Urban	49	48.51	

3.2 Materials

3.2.1 Double marginalization

In this study, a self-administered questionnaire was used to investigate the degree of DM in RTs. The questionnaire was developed via a rigorous process of initial testing and re-testing, item analysis, and exploratory and validation factor analyses to produce a questionnaire that met statistical criteria. The final questionnaire comprised two dimensions, i.e., UM and RM, with 20 items such as “I do not actively engage in collective activities or local customs organized by the rural community where the school is located” and “The teacher education, pre-service training, and in-service training received by RTs do not align with those in urban settings.” A scale from 1 (very non-conforming) to 6 (very conforming) was used, with higher scores indicating higher levels of DM. The reliability of the questionnaire was 0.90 (good reliability), and its model-fit indicators were χ2/df = 3.05, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.94, and RMSEA = 0.073. Therefore, construct validity of the questionnaire was good, and it could be used as the instrument for measuring DM.

3.2.2 Career identity

Career identity was measured using the Teacher Career Identity Scale [22]. This scale comprises four dimensions (role values, professional behavioral tendencies, professional values, and sense of belonging) and 18 questions. Responses were scored using a scale of 1 (very non-conforming) to 6 (very conforming), with higher scores indicate higher career identity. The reliability of the scale was 0.94, and the fit indices were χ2/df = 2.7, TLI = 0.96, CFI = 0.097, and RMSEA = 0.06. This indicates that the scale has good validity and reliability and could be used as the instrument for measuring career identity.

3.2.3 Hope

The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale as revised and amended by Chen et al. [25] was used to measure hope. The measure comprised two dimensions with four items each, addressing feelings of agency and routes to goals. Examples of items are “Every problem has multiple pathways and approaches for resolution” and “Even when others are disheartened, I am confident in my ability to find solutions to problems.” Two dimension elements and four interference items completed the scale, but the interference items were not factored into the result. A four-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) was used to evaluate the responses, and the Cronbach alpha coefficient of the hope scale was 0.78.

3.2.4 Procedure

The study was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. Informed consent was obtained from all participants before their enrolment in the study, and they were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Each participant worked in one of the selected rural elementary schools (see Sec. 3.1). The questionnaire was sent to each participant over the Internet, and after reading the instructions provided by the experimenter, they completed the questionnaire according to their current feelings. After completing the task, they received ¥100 for taking part in the survey.

3.3 Statistical analysis

The software packages IBM SPSS 20.0 and Mplus6.0 were used to import the study data and analyze them using descriptive tests, structural equation modeling (SEM), and SEM multi-group analysis. First, the correlations among the three variables were analyzed using descriptive tests, then the mediating relationships were analyzed using SEM. In the mediation analysis, to refine the DM effect, it was decomposed into UM and RM to assess their differences. Multi-group analysis was used to analyze whether the mediator model differed significantly across different groups of demographic variables.

4 Results

The study data were self-reported and so could have been affected by common method bias, thereby decreasing the validity of the results. Therefore, the Harman single-factor test was used to identify any common method bias. The results showed that 14 factors had an eigenvalue greater than 1, and the first factor accounted for 19.99 % of the variance, which is less than the critical standard of 40 %. This shows that common method bias was not apparent.

4.1 Descriptive statistics

The means, standard deviations, and correlation coefficients for all the variables were calculated and are presented in Table 2. As can be seen, DM was significantly negatively correlated with career identity and hope, and career identity was significantly positively correlated with hope.Table 2 Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations for key study variables.

Table 2	M ± S	Min	Max	1	2	3	4	5	
1. Urban marginalization	24.50 ± 6.82	9	38	1					
2. Rural marginalization	30.91 ± 7.45	11	48	0.693***	1				
3. Double marginalization	55.41 ± 13.13	20	83	0.913***	0.927***	1			
4. Career identity	87.40 ± 9.56	56	108	−0.281**	−0.319**	−0.327**	1		
5. Hope	25.25 ± 3.33	18	32	−0.312**	−0.314**	−0.340**	0.423***	1	
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; all tests were two-tailed.

4.2 Results of mediation effect test (SEM)

The “bootstrap test” was used with repeated sampling 1000 times, and the 95 % confidence interval (CI) was calculated to assess whether our hypothetical mediation models were significant. First, DM and hope were analyzed as latent variables, and the resulting model is detailed in Fig. 2 with the following model fit indices: χ2/df = 0.83, TLI = 1.00, CFI = 1.00, and RMSEA = 0.00, which are good indicators. Fig. 2 shows that DM was negatively associated with both career identity and hope in RTs. The path from DM to hope through career identity was significant. The 95 % CI was [−0.21, −0.054], which excludes zero, indicating that the chain-mediating effect was significant. The total mediating effect value was −0.132, p < 0.01, and the size of the total mediating effect was 32.19 %. The direct effect size reached 67.81 %.Fig. 2 Mediator model of DM, career identity, and hope.

Fig. 2

From the effect sizes, the direct effect of DM is larger than the indirect mediating effect. Therefore, to present the direct effect of DM more finely, the paths of UM and RM were separated. The results are shown in Fig. 3. The model fit indices were χ2/df = 1.185, TLI = 0.983, CFI = 0.996, and RMSEA = 0.043, which are good indicators. The model had a direct effect value of −0.145 for UM and −0.126 for RM, with a total direct effect size of 66.42 %. One of the two mediating paths, i.e., UM to career identity to hope, had an effect value of −0.045 and an effect size of 11.03 %. The 95 % CI was [−0.109, 0.109], which includes zero, indicating that this mediating effect was not significant. In the path of RM to career identity to hope, the path effect value was −0.092 and the effect size was 22.55 %. The 95 % CI was [−0.170, −0.013], which excludes zero, indicating a significant mediating effect. The total mediated effect size was 39.28 %. This reveals that the direct effect of DM was higher than the sum of the direct effects of UM and RM. The mediated effect size of RM was much higher than that of UM and reached statistical significance. This indicates that career identity significantly mediates the path from RM to hope, and the direct effect becomes insignificant and is a fully mediated effect. Although both the direct and indirect effects of UM did not reach statistical significance, the direct effect of DM was much larger than that of UM or RM alone and larger than the sum of those of UM and RM.Fig. 3 Mediator model of urban marginalization, rural marginalization, career identity, and hope.

Fig. 3

4.3 Results of multi-group analysis

Multi-group analysis was used to analyze whether the multiple mediator model differed significantly with gender. Therefore, six models of each demographic variable were compared. The first model had no constraint on the model parameters, whereas the second, third, and fourth models constrained the structural weights to be equal. The fifth model set the structural residual variables equal, and the sixth model set the measurement residual variables equal in variance. Qualifications were added for each model. The following fit indices were generated by SEM analysis. The chi-square increment (Δχ2) among the six models represents the adaptability of SEM in different demographic variable groups (see Table 3).Table 3 Δχ2 of multi-group analysis.

Table 3	Model2-Model1	Model3- Model2	Model4- Model3	Model5- Model4	Model6- Model5	
Gender	0.038	15.906*	17.787*	20.389*	23.242*	
Working years	11.493**	24.813*	26.551	29.400	35.861	
Residence	1.856	8.479	8.703	13.769	16.188	
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; all tests were two-tailed.

For the gender, the increments of Chi-square (Δχ2) of the 6 restriction models were 0.038, p > 0.05; 15.906, p < 0.05; 17.787, p < 0.05; 20.389, p < 0.05; 23.242, p < 0.05. These show that this model is not equivalent for males and females. Further analysis revealed differences between males and females in the model (see Fig. 4 for details), with a more significant direct effect of UM on hope for male RTs, while RM would eventually act on hope through career identity. In contrast, the direct effect of UM and RM reached significance for female RTs, and the mediating effect of career identity was not significant. Therefore, male RTs would experience a greater lack of hope compared to females. Regarding residence, the Δχ2 values for comparison among the six models were 1.856, 8.479, 8.703, 13.769, and 16.188 (ps > 0.05), indicating that for residence in rural or urban areas, there was no significant difference shown in this model.Fig. 4 Comparison of models by gender. (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).

Fig. 4

In terms of working years, the Δχ2 values among the six models were 11.493 (p < 0.01), 24.813 (p < 0.05), 26.551 (p > 0.05), 29.400 (p > 0.05), and 35.861 (p > 0.05). These show that there were significant differences among those who had worked less than 15 years, 15–26 years, and over 26 years, and that the model was not equal (as shown in Fig. 5). The mediating model of RTs’ career identity was more significant for those who had worked for less than 15 years. Specifically, RTs who had worked for less than 15 years were more likely to be affected by UM and RM, and eventually act on their own profession, thus showing a lack of hope.Fig. 5 Comparison of models by working years. (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).

Fig. 5

5 Discussion

5.1 Why rural teachers are in a poor work state

This study aimed to explain the reasons for the poor working conditions of RTs by examining the relationship among RTs' DM, career identity, and hope. The study found that RTs' DM was negatively associated with their career identity and hope, and that career identity played a mediating role in the relationship between RTs’ DM and hope, with a mediating effect size of 32.19 %. This indicates that the DM of RTs brings negative perceptions of their profession, becoming less identified with their career, and thus creating a state of lack of hope. The DM puts RTs in an awkward state in both urban and rural environments, without access to resources yet having to continue working—a contradiction that causes RTs to constantly deplete their resources while creating a sense of deprivation [26,27] and causes doubts about their teaching careers. Career identity is one of the basic conditions for being a good teacher [28,29]. If RTs no longer identify with their career, they will not develop deeply in their jobs and may even leave them. As stated in resource conservation theory, individuals who suffer from a loss of resources will look for other investments to increase their resources. The most likely path that RTs can find—because of the lack of rural resources—is to leave the profession and the countryside. This answers the question posed at the beginning of this paper regarding why RTs cannot be retained, which is made worse if they remain in poor working conditions.

The mediating role of career identity was significant in the relationship between RM and hope, but it was not significant in the relationship between UM and hope. This may be because RTs work in rural areas all year round and experience more RM, thus the effect is more pronounced. Although the teaching career seems to have a high status in the countryside, it is actually more detached from rural life and culture. Teachers are perceived by villagers as “not touching the spring water,” a saying that describes a pampered and spoiled person [20]. On the other hand, the teachers themselves are educated and have seen prosperity and flourishing in cities and are not necessarily willing to participate in events such as spring planting and fall harvest in rural areas. Consequently, this marginalization will be experienced more deeply by them. Although the role of UM is not significant, it is still important because the results show that the direct effect of DM is greater than the sum of those of RM and UM. This indicates that RTs will experience RM after feeling UM, thus increasing the overall effect of DM.

After comparing the model equivalence in terms of gender, residence, and working years, the model equivalence was observed in groups with different residences, but not for different genders and working years. The mediated model of career identity was more significant for males compared to females. The main reason for this may be that men take on more responsibilities in Chinese culture [3,30] and they need more resources to sustain their livelihood. Once they feel marginalized and have no psychological resources to supplement them, they will find it difficult to support their family responsibilities and feel more pressure and threats, followed by a lack of career identity and subsequent loss of hope. The mediating model of professional identification is also more significant for RTs with less than 15 years of work experience than for other lengths of work experience. The main reason for this may be that less than 15 years of work experience is a period during which new teachers transition to expert teachers, and new teachers also need more resources in their own professional development and transition [4]. Thus, new teachers feel DM more profoundly. On the other hand, teachers in other working-year groups may have already either given up on development and transition or completed them through other channels, accepted reality, adapted to local life, or even fully integrated without DM or with UM alone. Although this transformation is advantageous to the work and personal lives of RTs, it does not invariably lead to a career development that is beneficial to them. Therefore, human intervention is required to ensure a positive and conducive transition process.

5.2 Improving working states for rural teachers

Although working for more years may resolve the DM issue for RTs, we can support them in the following ways.1) Mitigating the DM of RTs requires a multi-faceted approach, and a crucial first step is placing them in pivotal roles within rural communities. Encouraging their active participation in rural social governance and revitalization initiatives fosters greater interaction and collaboration between teachers and villagers, integrating teachers into the fabric of rural life and reducing marginalization [31]. Also, establishing mechanisms for collaborative training between RTs and top-tier urban schools can help alleviate UM.

2) Strengthening the career identity of RTs is imperative. Cultivating a strong sense of professional belief through targeted training programs can bolster the collective career identity of RT cohorts. Developing collective psychological capital among RTs engenders a positive and cohesive shared understanding within the group, providing them with added motivation and fostering a sense of career identity [32].

3) Supplementing the hopes of RTs through alternate channels is essential. Augmenting their psychological resources can be achieved by creating a supportive and harmonious emotional environment, fostering psychological capital, and enhancing professional self-confidence. Establishing pathways for autonomous career advancement for RTs while reducing resource constraints associated with professional title evaluations can also enhance their sense of hope [33].

The Chinese state has also issued corresponding policies in these areas, such as “Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Rural Teacher Teams in the New Era,” “Rural Outstanding Young Teacher Training and Incentive Program,” and “National Training Program for Rural Teachers,” which explicitly define the crucial role of RTs in rural revitalization, thereby reducing DM. Simultaneously, through robust training to enhance RT’ professional qualities, strengthen their career identity, and provide a green channel for promoting RTs’ professional titles, more time is allocated for improving the quality of education and teaching. These policies reflect the correctness and urgency of the recommendations proposed herein.

5.3 Research significance and future research outlook

In summary, this study has both theoretical and practical implications. In terms of theoretical contributions, it proposes a mediating model of RTs' DM, career identity, and hope, which enriches the theoretical model in the field of RT research. The study also explains theoretically that the root cause of RTs’ inability to stay in their jobs—and their poor working conditions even if they do stay—may stem from DM, which provides a theoretical basis for RTs to improve their working conditions. In addition, this study finds that the direct effect of DM is greater than the sum of those of RM and UM, providing a good theoretical perspective for future interventions for RTs.

In terms of practical contributions, this study provides a clear anchor point for interventions for RTs that would yield better working conditions by improving the situation of DM and career identity. Also, this study proposes several intervention countermeasures that can provide educational administrators, teacher development departments, rural schools, and RTs themselves with feasible pathways that are appropriate for them. Finally, this study suggests that more attention and resources should be given to young male RTs to provide some support for their career transition and development.

Although it is hoped that the perspectives afforded by this study are enlightening, the limited sources mean that only a partial overview is provided. First, DM is a relatively complex variable, and the self-administered questionnaire in this study may not cover enough scope. In-depth analysis can be conducted in the future to develop a more adaptable scale. Second, the mediating model of the career-identity model used in this study has Chinese characteristics, and further research is needed to determine whether it is cross-culturally consistent. Furthermore, the differences in the model for gender and working years are also based on Chinese cultural interpretations. Caution should be used when applying this to other cultures. Finally, this study used cross-sectional data, mainly because of the state characteristics of hope. However, the lack of hope among RTs is not only the current ongoing state but also the result of continuous accumulation. Therefore, future research can be conducted using a longitudinal approach that may yield many interesting results.

6 Conclusion

Focusing on the poor working conditions of RTs, this study investigated their DM, career identity, and hope using a measurement instrument, developed a mediating model of career identity, and drew the following conclusions. 1) RTs’ poor working conditions are associated most strongly with DM. 2) Career identity is an important mediating variable of DM and hope for RTs. 3) The DM faced by male teachers in rural areas compared to their female counterparts significantly amplifies the lack of hope. 4) Particularly pronounced is the lack of hope resulting from the DM of RTs with less than 15 years of experience when compared to those with careers of 26 or more years.

Funding

The funding source for this article is the National Office for Educational Science Planning. The project falls under the National Social Science Fund’s Young Program in Education, with the grant ID: CFA230299 .

Ethical approval

This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Huaiyin Normal University, with the approval number: 2023031501. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of authors’ institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the authors.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Xiaoxia Han: Writing – original draft, Methodology, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Jin Yao: Writing – review & editing, Validation, Supervision, Methodology, Formal analysis, Conceptualization.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Xiaoxia Han reports financial support was provided by Leading Group Office of the National Education Science Program. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Appendix A Supplementary data

The following is the Supplementary data to this article:Multimedia component 1

Multimedia component 1

Appendix A Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36330.
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