Abstract

This study examines how job demands and resources influence retention intentions among rural early childhood educators in China by analysing survey data from 6,632 teachers across 10 provinces. Binary logistic regression showed that 67.2% of teachers intended to stay and 32.8% did not, with lower retention intention rates observed among highly educated, non-local, and on-staff teachers. The results indicate that: (1) longer working hours and role demands reduce retention, while passion for preschool education increases it; (2) job resources (i.e., salary, social security, campus environment, autonomy, and interpersonal support) significantly boost retention; and (3) resources partially mitigate high job demands, though salary and campus environment fail to buffer these effects, while social security and autonomy alleviate excessive working hours but not role demands. Recommendations to improve teacher retention include timely recruitment, rationalizing workloads, fostering professional values, and enhancing supportive resources.

Keywords: Rural preschool education, Work demands, Work resources, Kindergarten teachers, Teacher retention