Professional Mission and Teacher Burnout in Rural China: Evidence from Primary School Educators

Abstract The critical role of professional mission in fostering career development and job satisfaction, particularly within the resource-constrained context of rural education. Rural teachers face significant challenges, such as heavy workloads, limited resources, and inadequate social support, all of which contribute to job burnout. This research surveyed 238 rural primary school teachers using the Professional Mission Scale and the Job Burnout Scale for data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that rural teachers generally possess a moderate level of professional mission, while job burnout is a prevalent issue among them. Variance and correlation analysis reveal a negative relationship between professional mission and job burnout, suggesting that a stronger sense of professional mission correlates with lower levels of job burnout. The study provides empirical evidence and recommendations aimed at reducing job burnout and enhancing the quality of rural education through the reinforcement of rural teachers' professional mission.