Why Is It Difficult to Stay in the Profession? The Life Course of Early‐Career Teachers in Rural China

ABSTRACT The retention of young teachers in rural schools has been a topic of global concern, and the educational inequality between urban and rural areas has heightened the need for a group of high‐quality young teachers to enter rural education. Drawing on Life Course Theory, this paper examines the lived experiences of young teachers in rural China to explore potential strategies for improving their retention in the teaching profession. A total of 10 highly educated young rural teachers were identified through snowball sampling. The results showed that their self‐orientation in rural schools was closer to that of a supervisor, accompanied by feelings of isolation at work, low career achievement, deprivation of private time due to work outside teaching, and confusion about future career development. Overall, this paper provides a perspective on rural education from the perspective of young rural teachers and reveals future research trends in rural teacher education.