Mental Health Education for Left-Behind Children in Rural Yunnan: A Qualitative Investigation of Huaxing Primary School from Teachers’ Perspectives
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Abstract
Background and Aim: Left-behind children in rural China face complex psychological challenges resulting from prolonged parental migration, while rural schools often have limited capacity to provide systematic mental health support. In Yunnan Province, teachers frequently assume informal caregiving and psychological support roles beyond their formal training. This study focused on Huaxing Primary School in Yiliang County to examine school-level and socio-ecological barriers affecting mental health education for left-behind children. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Noddings’ Care Ethics, the study aimed to develop a staged intervention framework grounded in teachers’ lived experiences.
Materials and Methods: This study employed a qualitative interpretivist research design. Eight teachers from Huaxing Primary School were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed in Mandarin using a semi-structured interview protocol. Each interview lasted 45–90 minutes and was transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis with the support of NVivo 14. Approximately 320 initial codes were generated and organized into themes reflecting internal school constraints and external socio-ecological barriers.
Results: Teachers reported four recurring forms of psychological distress among left-behind children: excessive academic anxiety, self-blame linked to parental absence, emotional dysregulation, and peer withdrawal. These difficulties became more severe as the duration of parental separation increased. At the school level, key barriers included unclear role boundaries, limited professional training, insufficient time, and the absence of dedicated counseling spaces. Beyond the school, elderly guardians, weak community-based services, and continuing economic pressures further limited intervention efforts. Four mechanisms explained how these barriers interacted: burden displacement, communication breakdown, value–practice contradiction, and temporal compounding. Teachers’ responses were categorized into three types: Compassionate Extensionists, Boundaried Pragmatists, and Systemic Advocates.
Conclusion: Improving mental health education for left-behind children requires structural reform rather than continued reliance on teachers’ individual care and goodwill. Effective intervention should operate across the classroom, school, family, community, and policy levels. The findings highlight the need for coordinated, staged, and context-sensitive support systems that strengthen rural schools’ capacity to promote children’s psychological well-being.
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