Teacher Enthusiasm and the Urban–Rural Achievement Gap in China: Evidence From B-S-J-Z PISA 2018

Using data from the Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang (B-S-J-Z) region of the 2018 PISA database, this research examines the role of teacher enthusiasm (TE) in explaining the academic achievement gap between urban and rural students. The results indicate that the TE levels in rural schools are significantly lower than those in urban schools; and education production function estimations show that, on average, higher TE is still positively associated with better achievement among rural students. Quantile regression analyses further reveal that the beneficial impact of TE on achievement is strongest among high-achieving students and gradually weakens toward the lower end of the achievement distribution. Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition results indicate that differences in TE levels (endowment effects) explain a substantial portion of the overall urban–rural achievement gap. Decomposition across achievement percentiles reveals that the urban–rural gap attributable to TE level differences is most pronounced in the middle and upper percentiles but disappears in the lowest two deciles. In contrast, the portion of the achievement gap explained by differences in TE return (coefficient effects) consistently narrows as achievement scores increase.