Abstract: Over the past two decades,the practice of the “Special Post Program” has not only been a strategic measure in China's education sector to address the unbalanced development between urban and rural areas,but also a vivid model of the country using institutional innovation to solve the dilemma of rural teaching staff.As a systematic project that affects educational equity,rural revitalization,and social mobility,it has undergone 20 years of evolution and achieved phased institutional leaps.These phases include the emergency breakthrough and institutional foundation period (2006-2011),the policy optimization and adaptability improvement period (2012-2014),the in-depth integration and precise advancement period (2015-2020),and the quality improvement,transformation and connotative development period (2021-present).The program has achieved remarkable results in terms of institutional innovation,supplement of teaching staff,structural optimization,and educational equity.However,during its implementation,it still faces in-depth challenges.These challenges include inadequate transmission and implementation connection of policy information,unclear division of powers and responsibilities among implementing entities,and lagging quality development of the teaching team.Based on the dual needs of educational modernization and the rural revitalization strategy,in the future,efforts should be made to promote the program's transformation from “scale expansion” to “connotative development”.This can be achieved by strengthening information transmission and connection,advancing collaborative governance,and reconstructing the career development ecology for special post teachers,thereby providing solid institutional support for the high-quality development of rural education.

Key words: “Special Post Program”, rural teachers, policy evolution, rural revitalization