The professional development of rural teachers in China based on their relationship with “left-behind” children

ABSTARCT

This study explores the professional development (PD) of rural teachers in China based on their relationship with “left-behind” children, guided by two research questions:) How do rural teachers describe their relationship with left-behind children? and 2) How do rural teachers perceive the influence of their relationship with left-behind children on PD? The study revealed that Chinese rural school teachers experienced complex teacher–student relationships, both positive and negative, with left-behind children. Essentially, this study found that rural teachers are more likely to experience negative, conflict-ridden teacher–student relationships that can be attributed to left-behind children’s psychological or behavioural problems, lack of support from parents of rural children, respect and understanding, as well as rural schools’ inappropriate educational and management methods. However, the current study is not aimed at criticising the negative impact of teacher–student relationships on rural teachers’ PD. Instead, it argues that by reflecting the challenges of teacher–student relationship with regard to left-behind children, rural teachers have become reflective and critically reflective practitioners to improve their PD. This finding enriches the understanding of how teacher–student relationships influence rural teachers’ PD, and also provides recommendations from multiple dimensions to enhance these teachers’ PD and education.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher professional development
• rural teachers
• left-behind children
• teacher–student relationship
• critical reflective practitioner

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Correction

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to all rural teachers who participated in our research. Thanks for their dedication towards the development of the left-behind children in China.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statement

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Review Committee, Beijing Normal University (BNU202303100008).

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2024.2309764)

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Guangdong Office of Philosophy and Social Science [GD21YJY08].

Notes on contributors

Xiaojing Liu

Xiaojing Liu Dr. Xiaojing Liu is a post-doctoral research fellow in Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai). Her research interests are teacher professional development, teacher-student relationships, and early childhood education.

Yulong Li

Yulong Li Dr. Yulong Li is assistant professor at School of Education, City University of Macau. He specializes in educational philosophy and sociology.

Chen Chen

Chen Chen Dr. Chen Chen is a lecturer in Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai). Her research area is early childhood education.