Systemic analysis of rural teacher attrition in china: a hybrid DEMATEL-ISM approach to multidimensional drivers and policy implications

Rural teacher attrition in China presents a complex systemic challenge impacting educational equity and rural revitalization, necessitating multidimensional intervention strategies. This study employs an integrated DEMATEL-ISM methodology to model hierarchical interactions among 27 attrition determinants across individual, organizational, and societal dimensions. Key results indicate: (1) School size (Di = 6.303), geographical location (Di = 6.001), and compensation (Di = 5.918) dominate as causal factors, while professional identity (Ci = 6.401) and belongingness (Ci = 6.397) exhibit highest susceptibility; (2) A three-tiered structure emerges-surface-level urban-oriented preferences directly trigger attrition, intermediary factors (e.g., job burnout, resource disparities) mediate effects, and root-level institutional deficiencies (teaching environments/administrative systems) drive systemic causality through psychological and spatial pathways. We suggest that sustainable retention likely requires tripartite policy integration: optimizing material support systems, reconstructing professional identity through cultural-ecological rehabilitation, and implementing stratified interventions targeting institutional, psychological, and behavioral dimensions to disrupt attrition cascades.