You are here:

“Weekday rural teachers, weekend urban spouses and parents”: A Chinese case of how alternative hiring policy influences teachers’ career decisions
ARTICLE

International Journal of Educational Development Volume 67, Number 1, ISSN 0738-0593 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Abstract

This study aims to understand the reportedly high retention rates of teachers recruited through Special Teaching Position (STP) — an alternative teacher hiring policy in China. Drawing on ethnographic data, this study examines how five STP teachers make career decisions in their sociocultural contexts. The findings demonstrate how a new phenomenon emerges, which I refer to as “weekday rural teachers, weekend urban spouses and parents.” Two factors contribute to its emergence: (1) improvement of transportation conditions, and (2) skip-generation parenting, that grandparents or older relatives raise children on behalf of the parents. The findings suggest implications for researching alternative hiring policy.

Citation

Liao, W. (2019). “Weekday rural teachers, weekend urban spouses and parents”: A Chinese case of how alternative hiring policy influences teachers’ career decisions. International Journal of Educational Development, 67(1), 53-63. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved June 4, 2020 from .

This record was imported from International Journal of Educational Development on June 3, 2019. International Journal of Educational Development is a publication of Elsevier.

Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2019.03.002

Keywords

References

View References & Citations Map
  1. Akiba, M., LeTendre, G.K., & Scribner, J.P. (2007). Teacher quality, opportunity gap, and national achievement in 46 countries. Educ. Res., 36(7), pp. 369-387.
  2. Angers, J., & Machtmes, K.L. (2005). An ethnographic-case study of beliefs, context factors, and practices of teachers integrating technology. Qual. Rep., 10(4), pp. 771-794.
  3. Borman, G.D., & Dowling, N.M. (2008). Teacher attrition and retention: a meta-analytic and narrative review of the research. Rev. Educ. Res., 78(3), pp. 367-409.
  4. Bourdon, J., Frölich, M., & Michaelowa, K. (2010). Teacher shortages, teacher contracts and their effect on education in Africa. J. R. Stat. Soc.: Ser. A (Stat. Soc.), 173(1), pp. 93-116.
  5. Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2005). The draw of home: how teachers’ preferences for proximity disadvantage urban schools. J. Policy Anal. Manag., 24(1), pp. 113-132.
  6. Cannata, M. (2010). Understanding the teacher job search process: espoused preferences and preferences in use. Teach. Coll. Rec., 112(12), pp. 2889-2934.
  7. Chang, H., Dong, X.Y., & MacPhail, F. (2011). Labor migration and time use patterns of the left-behind children and elderly in rural China. World Dev., 39(12), pp. 2199-2210.
  8. Chen, F., Liu, G., & Mair, C.A. (2011). Intergenerational ties in context: grandparents caring for grandchildren in China. Soc. Forces, 90(2), pp. 571-594.
  9. Chudgar, A., Chandra, M., & Razzaque, A. (2014). Alternative forms of teacher hiring in developing countries and its implications: a review of literature. Teach. Teach. Educ., 37, pp. 150-161.
  10. Day, C., & Gu, Q. (2010). The New Lives of Teachers. London, UK: Routledge.
  11. Dong, X., Chang, E.S., Wong, E., & Simon, M. (2012). A qualitative study of filial piety among community dwelling, Chinese, older adults: changing meaning and impact on health and well-being. J. Intergener. Relationship, 10(2), pp. 131-146.
  12. Duthilleul, Y. (2005). Lessons Learnt in the Use of “contract” Teachers. Synthesis Report. Paris, France: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). Available online: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED495404.
  13. Engel, M., & Cannata, M. (2015). Localism and teacher labor markets: how geography and decision making may contribute to inequality. Peabody J. Educ., 90(1), pp. 84-92.
  14. Fouad, N.A., & Byars‐Winston, A.M. (2005). Cultural context of career choice: meta‐analysis of race/ethnicity differences. Career Dev. Q., 53(3), pp. 223-233.
  15. Fusch, G.E., & Ness, L.R. (2017). How to Conduct a mini-ethnographic case study: a guide for novice researchers. Qual. Rep., 22(3), pp. 923-941.
  16. Fyfe, A. (2007). The Use of Contract Teachers in Developing Countries: Trends and Impact. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Office..
  17. Gajardo, M. (2014). Teacher Recruitment in Latin America: Global Trends, Regional Challenges. Washington, D.C: Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas. Available online: https://www.oas.org/cotep/LibraryDetails.aspx?lang=en%26id=107.
  18. Govmda, R., & Josephine, Y. (2005). Para-teachers in India: a review. Contemp. Educ. Dialogue, 2(2), pp. 193-224.
  19. Goyal, S., & Pandey, P. (2013). Contract teachers in India. Educ. Econ., 21(5), pp. 464-484.
  20. Guarino, C.M., Santibanez, L., & Daley, G.A. (2006). Teacher recruitment and retention: a review of the recent empirical literature. Rev. Educ. Res., 76(2), pp. 173-208.
  21. Han, X., Pang, L., & Xie, Y. (2010). Research on the standard and management of teaching staff establishment of primary and secondary school. Res. Educ. Dev., 8, pp. 15-819.
  22. Holloway, I., Brown, L., & Shipway, R. (2010). Meaning not measurement: using ethnography to bring a deeper understanding to the participant experience of festivals and events. Int. J. Event Festiv. Manag., 1(1), pp. 74-85.
  23. Honig, M.I. (2006). New Directions in Education Policy Implementation. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
  24. Kavenuke, P. (2013). What is it that keeps good teachers in the teaching profession: a reflection on teacher retention. Acad. Res. Int., 4(1), pp. 165-175.
  25. Kukla-Acevedo, S. (2009). Leavers, movers, and stayers: the role of workplace conditions in teacher mobility decisions. J. Educ. Res., 102(6), pp. 443-452.
  26. Lauwerier, T., & Akkari, A. (2015). Teachers and the Quality of Basic Education in Sub-sahara Africa (Education Research and Foresight Working Papers No. 11). Paris, France: UNESCO.
  27. Liao, W., & Yuan, R. (2017). Understand an emerging “failure” of an equality-oriented teacher policy in China: A job search perspective. Int. J. Edu. Res., 81, pp. 71-82.
  28. Li, Y., & Wu, Z. (2014). A survey of the impact of implementing the STP Policy from the teachers’ perspective: the cases of Jingle and Yongan. Teach. Educ. Res., 26(4), pp. 52-57.
  29. Liu, Y. (2016). The Talk at the Conference for Advancing the Development of Rural Teaching Force in China.
  30. Liu, J. (2017). A review, reflection and prospect of the implementation of the Specially Contracted Teachers Plan over the past 10 Years. Modern Educ. Manage., 2, pp. 79-284.
  31. Loeb, S., & Reininger, M. (2004). Public policy and teacher labor markets. East Lansing, MI: Education Policy Center. Available online: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED485592.
  32. Luschei, T.F., & Chudgar, A. (2016). Teacher Distribution in Developing Countries: Teachers of Marginalized Students in India, Mexico, and Tanzania. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  33. Maier, A., & Youngs, P. (2009). Teacher preparation programs and teacher labor markets: how social capital may help explain teachers’ career choices. J. Teach. Educ., 60(4), pp. 393-407.
  34. Merriam, S.B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  35. Ministry of Education of China (2006). The Plan of Implementing the Special Teaching Position Policy in Compulsory Education Rural Schools. Beijing, China: Ministry of Education. Available online: http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A10/s7058/200605/t20060515_81624.html.
  36. Mpokosa, C., Ndaruhutse, S., McBride, C., Nock, S., & Penson, J. (2008). Managing teachers: the centrality of teacher management to quality education. England: CfBT Education Trust. Available online: http://119.82.251.165:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/120/ERC-Managing%20Teachers.pdf?sequence=1.
  37. Mulkeen, A., Chapman, D.W., DeJaeghere, J.G., & Leu, E. (2007). Recruiting, Retaining, and Retraining Secondary School Teachers and Principals in Sub-saharan Africa. Washington, D.C: World Bank. Available online: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRREGTOPSEIA/Resources/No.4Teachers.pdf.
  38. National People’s Congress of China (1993). Teachers’ Law of the People’s Republic of China. Beijing, China: The National People’s Congress. Available online: http://www.npc.gov.cn/wxzl/wxzl/2000-12/05/content_4603.htm.
  39. Peng, W.J., McNess, E., Thomas, S., Wu, X.R., Zhang, C., Li, J.Z., (2014). Emerging perceptions of teacher quality and teacher development in China. Int. J. Educ. Dev., 34, pp. 77-89.
  40. Robinson, B., & Yi, W. (2008). The role and status of non-governmental (‘daike’) teachers in China’s rural education. Int. J. Educ. Dev., 28(1), pp. 35-54.
  41. Rolls, S., & Plauborg, H. (2009). Teachers’ career trajectories: an examination of research. Teachers’ Career Trajectories and Work Lives, Vol. 3, pp. 9-28. New York, NY: Springer.
  42. Savickas, M.L. (2002). Career construction: a developmental theory of vocational behavior. Career Choice and Development, pp. 149-205. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  43. Shin, H.B. (2015). Urbanization in China. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, pp. 973-979. Oxford, England: Elsevier.
  44. UNESCO (2015). Teacher Policy Development Guide. Paris, France: UNESCO. Available online: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002352/235272e.pdf.
  45. UNESCO (2015). The Challenge of Teacher Shortage and Quality: Have We Succeeded in Getting Enough Quality Teachers Into Classrooms?. Paris, France: UNESCO. Available online: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002327/232721E.pdf.
  46. UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2006). Teachers and Education Quality: Monitoring Global Needs for 2015. Montreal, Canada: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Available online: http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/teachers-and-educational-quality-monitoring-global-needs-for-2015-en_0.pdf.
  47. United Nations (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: the 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352). New York, NY: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. Available online: https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf.
  48. Vavrus, F., & Salema, V. (2013). Working lives of teachers. Teaching in Tension: International Pedagogies, National Policies, and Teachers’ Practices in Tanzania, pp. 75-92. Rotterdam: Netherland: Sense Publishers.
  49. Wang, D., & Gao, M. (2013). Educational equality or social mobility: the value conflict between preservice teachers and the Free Teacher Education Program in China. Teach. Teach. Educ., 32, pp. 66-74.
  50. Wayne, A.J., & Youngs, P. (2003). Teacher characteristics and student achievement gains: a review. Rev. Educ. Res., 73(1), pp. 89-122.
  51. Xu, T. (2014). Using significant projects on rural teachers to enhance the quality of elementary and secondary school teachers in rural regions. World Educ. Inf., pp. 27-29.
  52. Xue, E., & Li, T. (2015). Policy evaluation of urban and rural balanced allocation of compulsory education teaching staff. Educ. Res., 36(8), pp. 65-73.
  53. Yazan, B. (2015). Three approaches to case study methods in education: Yn, Merriam, and Stake. Qual. Rep., 20(2), pp. 134-152.
  54. Yin, R.K. (2013). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. Signed in users can suggest corrections to these mistakes.

Suggest Corrections to References

Also Read