Teacher Emotion Regulation in Chinese Rural and Urban Schools: Impact on Burnout and Teaching Styles

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines the relationships between teachers’ emotion regulation strategies, need satisfaction, burnout, and teaching styles in China. It focuses on differences in emotion regulation between rural and urban schools and the moderating effect of rural vs. urban context in the relationships between emotion regulation and its outcomes. Data from 1479 teachers (1114 urban, 365 rural) were analysed. Consistent with previous findings, reappraisal was positively associated with need satisfaction, personal accomplishment, and motivating teaching styles, while suppression was linked to need frustration, depersonalization, and demotivating teaching styles. Additionally, need satisfaction indirectly affected teaching styles through emotion regulation and burnout. Unexpectedly, reappraisal and suppression were positively correlated, particularly in rural schools. Moreover, although rural teachers reported higher suppression and lower reappraisal compared to urban teachers, this study did not find a moderating role of rural vs. urban context in the relationships between emotion regulation and its outcomes, suggesting a complex interaction between cultural expectations and emotion regulation strategies. These findings underscore the importance of supporting teachers’ psychological needs and emotion regulation, particularly in rural schools, to promote effective teaching practices.