The Cultivation of Rural Cultural Identity among English Majors of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan in Hubei Normal University

The Cultivation of Rural Cultural Identity among English Majors of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan in Hubei Normal University

Zheng Qiuyue, Wu Yuxin, Jia Hongjun, Cheng Sisi, Dong Zhihao

Hubei Normal University

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.807062

Received: 10 June 2024; Revised: 26 June 2024; Accepted: 01 July 2024; Published: 02 August 2024

ABSTRACT

It has been three years since the promulgation of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan. In the past three years, the first group of Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students, who are supposed to go back to teach in their hometown, have become junior students, and they will enter the graduation and employment stage. This means that whether their original intention changes or not, the reason for their change, and the importance of how to cultivate their sense of local cultural identity. This study tries to answer these questions according to the results of the relevant questionnaire survey, and put forward some targeted measures to cultivate the rural cultural identity of the Excellent Teachers Training Plan normal university students, and to cultivate excellent teachers who can teach well.

Keywords: Excellent Teacher Training Plan; Rural Cultural Identity; English Major

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

If a country is to prosper, it must value its teachers. Respecting teachers and valuing education has always been the gene of China’s excellent traditional culture, leading the development of the whole education cause. Among them, the training of rural teachers has always been the focus and difficulty of the development of rural education in China (Zhu Lei & Zhu Yunqin, 2023). With the introduction of the policy of free normal university students, public funded normal university students and rural oriented normal university students, the supply of teachers in county primary and secondary schools in China has shown a diversified development trend. In 2021, the county teacher supply policy will add another member, namely the Excellent Teacher Training Plan. This policy is a special plan for nine departments including the Ministry of Education to train excellent teachers for primary and secondary schools in less developed areas in central and western China (formerly contiguous poverty-stricken areas, key counties of national poverty alleviation and development work) and land border counties in central and western China. In the implementation process of this plan, the plan is uniformly deployed by the government and promoted layer by layer (Sun Jing & Zhang Luhai, 2023). However, 2021 is the first enrollment year of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan, and it is possible that all systems will be continuously optimized with the specific implementation plan.In other words, the implementation effect of the plan also needs to be reflected by the first group of normal university students who go to their posts. In the process of implementation, the early childhood education policy is constantly adapted to the external environment, adjusted and revised, and gradually standardized, which gradually increasing social attention.

Tracing back to the source, most Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students apply for this plan is mainly based on the following three motives:

First, it is attracted by the benefits in the Excellent Teacher Training Plan policy. The Excellent Teacher Training Plan is a policy issued by the state to optimize the rural teachers in the underdeveloped areas in the central and western regions, aiming to train a group of excellent teachers for the underdeveloped areas in the central and western regions.In order to attract more normal university students to apply for the examination, the state also provides corresponding security, including tuition reduction, accommodation fees, living allowance, and ability to get a job after graduation, which is very attractive for most of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students.

Second, the external factors of important others, such as parents and teachers. Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students are not clear about their future orientation before applying. They rely more on the guidance and recommendation of their parents and teachers, and fill in based on their expectations.

Third, environmental factors. According to the survey, the vast majority of the students applying for the program are located in their hometown, which means that most of the students applying for the program are local students in the central and western regions. “Close to home” is also one of the reasons that attracts many normal university students to apply for the program (Zhang Xiaowen, 2023).

However, from 2021 Excellent Teacher Training Plan issued three years later, the first normal during the university truly spent nearly three years, abandon the enter oneself for an examination Excellent Teacher Training Plan considering the influence of the three, they to enter oneself for an examination of the plan has a more profound experience, for the future form of employment direction also have a deeper understanding. Will face graduation and employment, around them of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students choose one’s deceased father grind, exam, examination, and go abroad, a few of their original choice is shaken, but most people will still meet the performance, but the reason behind the performance and the cause of the default is worth exploring, how to change the idea of Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal is more worth exploring. So, the study aims to Hubei Normal University School of Foreign Languages in 2021 the first group of Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students, for example, focusing on the analysis of Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students, the reason of the performance, the cause of the default, and based on the welfare benefits, government, degree promotion and various angles to discuss how to strengthen the Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal university students the possibility of the performance, to the ultimate goal: strengthen the Excellent Teacher Training Plannormal rural cultural identity (Ai Lian, 2023).

RESEARCH SUBJECTS, METHODS, AND PROCEDURES

i. Research Subjects

1. Main research subjects: 2021 English majors of Hubei Normal University under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan. At present, these students are in the critical stage of their junior year, which is an important period for them to turn teacher education into practice. It is particularly important to cultivate a sense of identification with rural culture for these future outstanding educators who are about to embark on teaching positions. This sense of identity is not only related to their personal career development, but also directly related to the quality and long-term development of rural education. Therefore, it is necessary to attach great importance to and take corresponding measures to strengthen the identification and understanding of rural culture among these pre-service teachers.
2. Auxiliary research subjects: Primary and secondary school teachers in targeted areas (Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Wufeng County in Yichang, and Yangxin County in Huangshi) for students under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan. Through in-depth interviews, the experiences and challenges faced by these teachers in rural education can provide empirical evidence for optimizing and enhancing the cultural identity of rural teachers.

ii. Research Methods

1. Literature Review Method: By reviewing relevant literature, we can gain an understanding of the current research status on the cultural identity of pre-service teachers in rural areas, both domestically and internationally. This will provide theoretical support for our research.
2. Questionnaire Survey Method: Through a questionnaire survey, we can understand pre-service teachers’ current status and influencing factors of rural cultural identity.
3. Interview Method: We selected some representative students and primary and secondary school teachers from targeted areas for interviews. Through these interviews, we can understand their understanding, attitudes, and emotional inclinations towards rural culture, as well as the underlying reasons.
4. Observation Method: By participating in pre-service teachers’ daily teaching activities and practical activities, we can observe their application and understanding of rural culture in actual teaching. Through this method, we can analyze their level of cultural identity towards rural areas.

iii. Research Procedures

1. Preparation stage

In the preparatory stage of the study, we systematically collected and sorted out the documents related to the study of rural cultural identity of pre-service teachers, aiming at comprehensively grasping its research background, current research status and future development trend. At the same time, in order to ensure the scientific and effective research tools, we carefully designed the questionnaire and conducted a test. In addition, we also made a detailed interview outline and observation plan, which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent data collection.

2. Data collection stage

In the stage of data collection, we made full use of various means such as questionnaire survey, interview and observation, and conducted a comprehensive and systematic data collection for pre-service teachers and primary and secondary school teachers in targeted areas. In order to ensure the universality and representativeness of the collected data, we have also strengthened our efforts in in-depth interviews and on-site observations, in order to obtain more vivid and specific first-hand information.

3. Data analysis stage

In the data analysis phase, we systematically organize and analyze the collected data. We use SPSS to quantitatively analyze the data to reveal the current situation and influencing factors of rural cultural identity among normal university students. At the same time, we also conduct a qualitative analysis of interview and observation data to gain a deeper understanding of the inner world of pre-service teachers and their true feelings towards rural culture.

4. Summary stage

In the summary stage, according to the results of data analysis, we organized a research report to summarize the current situation of rural cultural identity of pre-service teachers, deeply analyze the existing problems and the reasons, and put forward practical countermeasures and suggestions. In addition, we also provide valuable reference for the reform and development of normal education and rural education, so as to promote the sustained progress and development of education.

RESEARCH RESULT AND ANALYSIS

This study conducted a questionnaire survey from five aspects: personal information, family situation, career planning, willingness to return hometown and encouragement policies for students of the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan, and obtained the following results.

i. Research on the personal information of students in the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan

As can be seen from Figure 1, the proportion of female students who fill in the questionnaire is much higher than that of male students. It is not difficult to see that among the students who choose to major in English, female students account for the largest proportion, accounting for 83.33%, while male students only account for 16.67%. This is mainly because of the restriction of the conditions of the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan in the college entrance examination, and the policy at that time stipulates that students must choose history to apply for this major. In the Hubei New College Entrance Examination, all students who choose history, regardless of their other subjects, as long as they choose history, they belong to liberal arts. Therefore, the majority of boys will choose physics, which fundamentally leads to fewer boys enrolled in English Excellent Teacher Training Plan. And this is not only for the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan this major, but also the fact that the proportion of male students enrolled in the teacher education program is much less than that of female students (Li Jiqing, 2023).

As is shown in Figure 2, the students who choose the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan are basically taught in their hometown after graduation. The proportion of students whose place of education is their hometown is 86.67%, and the proportion of students whose place of education is not their hometown is 13.37%. This reflects the fact that most students want to work in their hometown. Since the first Excellent Teacher Training Plan of Hubei Normal University was set to be taught in Enshi, Yangxin County of Huangshi and Wufeng County of Yichang, these three places basically belong to the areas with weak educational conditions and resources in Hubei province. Although this program of Excellent Teacher Training Plan is open to the whole Hubei province, but the applicants from these places are the most people. According to the interview survey of students, the most students who choose the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan are from Enshi. They choose the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan mainly because it is close to hometown and more convenient for life and work. Secondly, Enshi has a feeling for the exam compilation, and there are many people who want to test compilation every year in Enshi, so everyone feels that this plan is very suitable for their needs.

ii. Research on the family situation of students in the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan

As can be seen from Figure 3 and Figure 4, the students who choose the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan are the most from rural and township students, accounting for 68% of all students, and students from urban areas account for 32%. From this, it is not difficult to see that students living in rural areas and towns are more eager for a stable job. And their family economic situation is basically in the middle, and many students’ family economic conditions are also relatively poor. The proportion of students with average family economic conditions is 70%, the proportion of students with poor family conditions is 28.33%, and only 1.67% of students have relatively rich family conditions. After visiting and investigating these students, we found that in addition to their love for the teaching profession, they choose the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan, another important factor is the family factor, including the family’s economic situation, parents’ expectations and so on.

iii. Research on the career planning of students in the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan

As can be seen from Figure 5, most students hold a positive and neutral attitude towards the future development prospects of English teachers. Among them, 35 percent had a positive attitude, 60 percent had a neutral attitude, and 5 percent had a negative attitude. With the continuous improvement of China’s comprehensive national strength and international status and the development of society, whether English will be canceled in the future is a question that everyone is thinking about at present. After the interview survey, it is found that this problem is also the main reason why most students hold a neutral attitude towards the future development of normal English.

As can be seen from Figure 6, 93.3% of students will fulfill the contract on time in the future, and 6.7% of students may not necessarily fulfill the contract on time in the future. In addition to having a deep sense of identity and responsibility for the profession of teachers, the reasons for most students to fulfill the contract on time are also affected by whether their future reputation will be affected and whether they need to pay compensation, which can also be seen from Table 1. As shown in Table 1, the majority of students in the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan were most concerned about the impact of non-compliance on their integrity and job search, accounting for 60%. 28.33 percent of the students were worried that they would have to return the four-year education funds and the penalty for non-compliance. The proportion of students who worry about other problems is 1.67%. Another 10% of students worry that they want to partially default and teach, but they do not know how to adjust the conflict between personal wishes and policies. It can be seen that despite the signing, students are still worried about the policy.

Table 1: Factors of default concern

iv. Research on the factors of returning intention of students in the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan

After SPSS data analysis, it can be seen from Table 2 that 29.1% of the students chose to return hometown to teach because of their family income. 23.3% of the students chose to return hometown to teach because their parents expected them to; 23.3% of the students chose to return hometown to teach because they were close to hometown and could take care of their parents in the future. 11.3% of the students chose to return hometown to teach because of their parents’ ideas. 10.6% of the students chose to return hometown to teach because of their parents’ occupation. Students who returned hometown to teach for other reasons accounted for 2.1%. From the above data, we can see that parental factors and family economic conditions have the greatest impact on students’ decision to study English Excellent Teacher Training Plan . In addition, as can be seen from the data in Table 3, 42.1% of the students who returned to their hometown considered salary and salary, 28.9% considered job stability, 22.8% considered working environment, and 6.1% considered work development space. From this, it is not difficult to find that no matter family factors or work factors, most students will consider whether the job they choose can greatly improve their economic conditions and those of their families. After the survey, parents expect their children to be teachers may have the following reasons: first, the teacher’s social status is higher; Secondly, the treatment of teachers is relatively high: teachers are supported and valued by the state, and can enjoy relatively favorable treatment such as: five insurance and one fund and housing subsidies. Therefore, parents hope that their children can improve their family’s social and economic status by choosing to become teachers. Finally, it is influenced by educational background and traditional concepts: in some families, due to the influence of family members’ educational background or traditional concepts, they may have a higher recognition and expectation for the occupation of education, and therefore hope that their children can engage in the education industry.

Table 2: Family factors considered for returning hometown to teach

Data source: Compiled according to spss analysis results

Table 3: Job factors considered by returning hometown to teach

Data source: Compiled according to spss analysis results

v. Research on the policy of encouraging students to return hometown in the English Excellent Teacher Training Plan

As can be seen from the analysis in Table 4, 35.5% of the students believe that the benefits and welfare of teachers can be improved to better encourage the return of normal students under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan; 27.0% of the students believe that more career development opportunities and training can be provided to better encourage the return of normal students under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan. 23.7% of the students believe that improving the teaching facilities and environment of rural schools can better encourage the return of Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students, and 13.8% of the students believe that strengthening the cooperative relationship between rural schools and local universities can better encourage the return of Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students. It can be seen from this that most of the students of English Excellent Teacher Training Plan believe that their salary, working environment and career development prospects have a great impact on whether they will return to work. Therefore, the improvement of these aspects will better encourage the return work of students of English Excellent Teacher Training Plan.

As analyzed in Table 5, 24.4% of the students believe that local colleges and universities support the return of English normal students through strengthening the training and practice of rural education and teaching of English Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students, and 21.2% believe that local colleges and universities support the return of English Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students by establishing internship and employment bases. 19.9% of the students believe that local colleges and universities support the return of English Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students through career guidance and consulting services, 18.6% of the students believe that local colleges and universities support the return of English Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students by setting up special reward and encouragement policies. 15.4% of students believe that local colleges and universities support the return of English teachers through cooperation with local governments, and 0.6% of students believe that local colleges and universities support the return of English teachers through other measures. From this data, we can see that local colleges and universities should pay more attention to their education training, practice and employment guidance when training normal students of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan, and at the same time let them better understand the Excellent Teacher Training Plan policy, which can not only train more excellent rural English teachers. It also allows them to enter the work of returning hometown more quickly.

Table 4: Measures to encourage normal school students to return hometown under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan

Data source: Compiled according to spss analysis results

Table 5: Measures taken by local universities to support the Excellent Teacher Training Plan

Data source: Compiled according to spss analysis results

INSPIRATION AND SUGGESTIONS

Hubei Province’s Excellent Teacher Training Plan normal students, as an important reserve army based on the development of education in remote areas of Hubei Province, the deep sense of identity with rural culture is an important driving force for them to take root in rural education and a key factor in helping them form a rural education sentiment. Enhancing the rural cultural identity of rural teacher trainees can help strengthen their love for rural education and provide a strong internal core motivation for their professional learning, and at the same time, it can also help improve the quality of rural education and promote the balanced development of urban and rural education.

The rural cultural identity of English teacher trainees in the Excellent Teacher Training Plan is specifically reflected in their understanding, acceptance, and affirmation of rural culture, their acceptance and recognition of rural material culture and organizational system, as well as their persistence and inheritance of long-term accumulated common cultural behaviors and cultural concepts. Based on our survey results, this study will analyze from four dimensions how to enhance the rural cultural identity of English teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan——cultural self-consciousness, cultivation in higher education institutions, policy implementation by the Ministry of Education, and social identity.

i. Cultural Self-Consciousness

As university students in the new era, as important forces in the construction of future rural education, and as successors of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, English teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan should actively enhance their understanding of local culture, consciously embrace it, and take the initiative to go into the vast fields. The countryside is the field where teachers work and live, so the teacher trainees of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan must step out of the study, advance towards the countryside life, face the countryside culture, and root in the field to feel deep sense of local sentiment.

For one thing, teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan should enhance their understanding of multiculturalism, cultivate a deep affection for local culture, focus on the subjective consciousness, awaken an endogenous cultural self-consciousness, and gradually establish confidence in local culture. The local culture has a deep cultural meaning. The orientated teacher trainees should hold on to the local culture with a sense of reverence, and not be influenced or impacted by foreign culture, so as to form a belief in the local culture.

For another, the teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan should shift from a spontaneous attitude to a conscious behaviour on the basis of building up their confidence in rural culture. Rural areas contain a great deal of natural educational resources, which are a rich treasure trove for rural teachers to draw on. The Excellent Teacher Training Plan oriented teacher trainees should enhance their learning and teaching abilities during their university years, take the initiative to explore the essence of local culture, integrate local culture into the cultural knowledge of the courses they teach, and take on the role of cultural mediator. They should build a bridge between local culture and mainstream culture, look for possibilities between the two, make full use of the unique educational resources in the countryside to develop local programme, seek opportunities to introduce local culture into the classroom, and proactively approaching rural students.

ii. Cultivation in Higher Education Institutions

The support of relevant universities is indispensable to enhance the awareness of the English teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan in identifying with the local culture.

On the one hand, the designated training schools for teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan need to select high-quality professional teaching teams to train teacher trainees in all aspects, including basic professional knowledge, teaching skills and techniques, as well as comprehensive qualities and abilities.

On the other hand, effective measures should be taken to encourage the teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan to learn and understand the rural culture–optimizing the curriculum structure, integrating the resources of local culture into classroom teaching, and offering training topics or courses on rural culture, such as courses on the study of rural English lesson examples, the study of the charm of rural culture, and so on, so that the rural culture can permeate the teaching process and promote the understanding of rural culture. Colleges and universities ought to carry out a variety of special activities to motivate targeted teacher trainees to independently study local culture and rural teaching. By organizing cultural salons on rural education, “I Speak” contests on rural culture, and academic research papers on rural education, colleges and universities have encouraged the teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan to study the connotations of rural culture, policies on rural education, and prospects for the development of rural education, so as to enhance their sense of identity in employment and make them more determined to work in the countryside. This will enhance their sense of employment identity and make them more determined to work in the countryside. What cannot be ignored is that colleges and universities should also strengthen the practical training of teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan, provide more opportunities for them to observe the lectures of excellent teachers in townships, lead them to learn the important theories of excellent grassroots educators in townships. By means of this, Colleges can help students establish prominent teacher ethics and teacher morals, and enhance their understanding and identification with the culture of the countryside, so as to improve their long-term career in teaching.

iii. Policy Implementation by the Ministry of Education

Job Implementation

Education departments should build a precise docking platform for employers and graduates of the “Excellent Teacher Program”, which not only highlights humanization, but also takes into account the needs of real education positions. Education departments at all levels should conscientiously carry out the requirements of the State Council and the relevant departments of the Central Government, and implement the exemplary measures of free education for teacher-training students, collaborate with relevant departments under the coordination of municipal Party committees and governments, and arrange the jobs for graduates of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan, reflecting the policy orientation of encouraging excellent students to study teacher training, excellent talents to become teachers, and aspiring young people to pursue long-term teaching, showing college students and the public that the state attaches great importance to the graduates of the Excellent Teacher Training Plan and proving the feasibility and correctness of choosing the Excellent Teacher Training Plan to college students with practical actions.

Favorable Treatment

Most of the students choose to become teacher trainees in the Excellent Teacher Training Plan because of their personal interests, so in order to attract more people to join the Excellent Teacher Training Plan, it is essential to provide them with favorable treatment. We should improve the training program, establish the incentive mechanism for more rewarding work, create conditions and build a platform for the improvement of their professional ability. The government uses good professional treatment to improve students’ professional identity and sense of local cultural identity, thus realizing both personal and social values. This requires the education sector to further improve the Excellent Teacher Training Plan young teachers’ entry training programs, establish incentives for better work and more pay, and create a platform for the professional ability and quality improvement of teachers under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan.

iv. Social Recognition

Society needs to establish a caring mechanism for rural teachers, respect the fruits of their labor, improve the public image and social status of rural teachers, form a strong atmosphere of respect for teachers, enhance the public’s recognition and confidence in the oriented teacher profession, and make the oriented teacher trainees under the Excellent Teacher Training Plan feel a sense of belonging to the rural culture, so that they recognize and love the rural teaching work. This will give the Excellent Teacher Training Plan oriented teacher trainees a sense of belonging to the rural culture, so that they will recognize and love the rural teaching work. At the same time, this initiative can also attract more outstanding young people to understand and join the Excellent Teacher Training Plan, so as to cultivate a group of excellent teachers who can go down to the townships, stay there, and do a good job.

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