Unravelling teacher status through a socio-ecological lens: A comparative analysis of teacher and public perspectives in China

Abstract

Raising the status of teachers is widely viewed as essential to addressing teacher shortages, yet the concept remains under-theorised and empirically fragmented. In this study, we draw on Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological framework to explore how teacher status is constructed and perceived across multiple social levels. Using survey data from 2447 teachers and 5062 members of the public across 66 cities in 29 Chinese provinces, we apply LASSO regression to identify the key determinants of teacher status from both teachers' and the public's perspectives. Our findings reveal two distinct logics underpinning perceptions of status. Teachers emphasise experiential legitimacy, grounded in autonomy, participation in decision-making, and relational trust, while the public prioritises symbolic recognition, shaped by media portrayal, policy signals and formal credentials. Some factors, such as accountability, school-level involvement and parental respect, are significant only to teachers. Even for determinants that are shared between teachers and the public, the extent of their impact varies between the two groups. These differences reflect contrasting understandings of what constitutes teacher status. While teachers draw on their internal experiences and institutional engagement, the public's assessments rely on external cues. The study offers a theoretically grounded and empirically validated framework for understanding teacher status, with implications for education policy and cross-national research on the status of the teaching profession.