Project Overview
China’s "Double Reduction" policy, designed to alleviate student workloads by reducing homework and afterschool training, has unintentionally placed new pressures on rural teachers. Despite being well-intentioned, the policy has led to heightened stress, job dissatisfaction, and challenges in adapting teaching practices, threatening both teacher retention and student outcomes in resource-limited communities.
Unlike individual-focused solutions (e.g. individual mental health interventions), our initiative taps into the power of collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Research underscores that "networked improvement and learning"—where teachers collectively share knowledge, solve problems, and support one another—can sustainably strengthen educational systems. Yet in rural China, where professional networks remain understudied, the potential of traditional approaches like Networks for School Improvement (NSI) is still untapped.
Partnering with local education departments and the University of California, Berkeley, this qualitative study will map existing teacher networks across rural China and identify strategies to tailor NSI interventions to its unique context. By bridging research with on-the-ground needs, we hope to build systems that empower teachers to collaborate and thrive, ultimately benefiting both educators and the students they serve.
