Abstract: Sense of belonging to a certain school determines whether teachers of rural primary schools will stay to teach. A survey was conducted to study the current degree of sense of belonging of rural primary school teachers in Yunnan Province and the reasons underlying their leaving. The survey finds that rural primary school teacher in Yunnan Province have a strong sense of belonging in general but its degree varies widely across individual teachers. Factors determining whether they will stay or leave include children’s education, teaching conditions, transportation, future development and other family issues. To foster their sense of belonging so that they stay, the authors suggest the following countermeasures 1) recruiting teachers competent in primary school teaching with appropriate diplomas; 2) cultivating young teachers while paying attention to their physical, psychological health and family issues; 3) enabling rural teachers to see the value of their work and themselves; 4) keeping in touch with and taking care of their children to alleviate their anxiety; 5) improving conditions of rural schools and living environment in the vicinity; 6) adopting more reasonable and flexible personnel allocation to rural teaching posts; and 7) paying greater attention to development of local normal colleges and universities and offering normal education programs in such higher education institutions to cultivate greater sense of belonging in their graduates.

Key words: rural school, rural revitalization, rural teacher, sense of school belonging