{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T06:09:29Z","timestamp":1784182169465,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Rural schools in China have long faced teacher shortages, high turnover, and workforce instability, which threaten instructional continuity and educational equity between urban and rural areas. Although policy initiatives have expanded the rural teacher supply, recruitment alone does not ensure long-term retention. This study examined how social\u2013emotional competence (SEC), as an important psychological resource for teachers, is associated with rural teachers\u2019 intention to remain employed (IRE).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Survey data were collected from 861 rural teachers in China. A serial mediation model was used to examine whether teaching efficacy (TE) and job satisfaction (JS) mediated the relationship between SEC and IRE.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>SEC had a significant total effect on IRE, but its direct effect became non-significant after TE and JS were included in the model. JS significantly mediated the relationship between SEC and IRE, and the serial mediation pathway SEC \u2192 TE \u2192 JS \u2192 IRE was also significant. However, the independent mediating effect of TE was not significant.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings indicate that SEC is associated with rural teachers\u2019 retention intentions mainly through job satisfaction. Although TE alone does not directly translate SEC into stronger retention intentions, it functions as an upstream cognitive factor that supports retention indirectly by enhancing JS. The study clarifies an internal psychological pathway linking teachers\u2019 individual resources, professional efficacy, affective experience, and retention intention. The findings suggest that efforts to retain rural teachers should not only improve external working conditions but also strengthen teachers\u2019 SEC, professional efficacy, and job satisfaction, thereby promoting long-term commitment and workforce stability in rural schools.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1827908","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T05:36:33Z","timestamp":1784180193000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The impact of social\u2013emotional competence on rural teachers\u2019 intention to remain employed in China: a sequential mediation of teaching efficacy and job satisfaction"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Chenfei","family":"Xiang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Education, Southwest University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tianping","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Education, Southwest University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiachao","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education Science, Nanning Normal University","place":["Nanning, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1108\/02683940710733115","article-title":"The job demands-resources model: state of the art","volume":"22","author":"Bakker","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. 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