The quality of learning is born from a well-planned and implemented learning process (Rosak-Szyrocka et al., 2022). Learning quality is a multidimensional concept that includes various aspects: School culture, teaching and learning process, and school reality (Garad et al., 2021). School culture is born from the interaction between teachers and students (Kravchuk et al., 2023) that gives birth to habits. The habit begins from the beginning of the student’s entry into school and will continue until he completes his education a few years later (Nikolopoulou et al., 2021). Learning activities are collaborative efforts between teachers and students in processing information in the hope that the knowledge gained can be helpful, become the foundation of continuous learning, and produce positive changes reflected in individual behavior (Siddiqui and Shaukat, 2021). The learning process at school is organized in a fun way, keeping up with the times, creating innovation, and motivating students to find creativity tailored to their talents, interests, and psychological development (Hyland et al., 2022). The reality of school is the actual conditions that occur in schools as a forum for students to learn to interact, work together, and build social relationships with friends and teachers (Sudarmika et al., 2020). The reality of school is closely related to Organizational Civic Behavior (OCB) (Choroschun et al., 2024). Although the authors have a different view of the statement of the three quality variables (school culture, learning process, and school reality), the other variable supports the quality of learning, namely teacher life satisfaction (Krämer et al., 2024).

So far, the quality of learning has been centered on the professionalism of teachers when teaching at school. Teachers are required to have the ability to plan learning, carry out the learning process, and evaluate learning (Stanciu et al., 2025). However, the fulfillment of their living needs is not paid attention to. In Indonesia, the problem that disrupts the quality of learning is the low wages of teachers (Shen et al., 2022), especially in rural areas (De Ree et al., 2019). The salary of permanent teachers in public schools refers to Indonesian Government Regulation Number 5 of 2024 concerning Civil Servant Salary. The wages of Group I civil servant teachers range from IDR 1,685,700 to IDR 2,901,400 per month.

Meanwhile, there are no standard rules for honorary teachers except for referring to the Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) number 49 of 2024 for Rp. 200,000 to Rp. 300,000 for each teacher. Teachers who work in some schools until now do not have a standard salary (Fuchs et al., 2022). There’s no denying that big salaries can influence their teaching career choices and serve their families more focused on learning (Olvido et al., 2024). Diagne (2024) found that low teacher salaries would have side effects that could affect the quality of teaching. With a small wage, Gutu will not be able to fulfill his life. The phenomenon of teacher problems above does not dampen a person’s enthusiasm to become a teacher in the countryside as the needs of living and salaries increase and are far below average. It is important to direct attention to the teacher’s interests. Interest is the feeling of liking or attraction to something. Interest can encourage a person to engage in a particular activity or activity (Havia et al., 2023). Interest is a constant tendency to pay attention to and enjoy a specific object or activity. Interest is often associated with positive emotions and curiosity, which can trigger intrinsic motivation (Sun et al., 2025). In other words, when someone is interested in something, they tend to feel motivated to learn it or do it without any external reward. In the context of teachers, interest plays a vital role in motivating a person to become a teacher to teach and achieve optimal learning outcomes.

Based on the above statement, the factors that cause teachers’ interest must be known internally and externally (Ali et al., 2021). Although individuals have both internal and external support, in reality, some individuals are highly motivated (Wang et al., 2025), and others show low motivation. Fate theory becomes an intrinsic motivation for teachers closely related to their interest in becoming teachers. This theory emphasizes that inherent motivation arises from fulfilling basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and connectedness (Ahmadi et al., 2023). It is key to achieving optimal OCB and well-being. Teachers interested in their profession tend to have strong intrinsic motivation (Smeets et al., 2023). They feel joy and enthusiasm for teaching because they enjoy the process, feel challenged, and see meaning in their work. Self-determination theory explains that this intrinsic motivation thrives when teachers feel independent in making teaching-related decisions, competent in carrying out their duties, and connected with students and colleagues (Dong, 2025). Self-determination theory states that fulfilling basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and connectedness is essential for maintaining intrinsic motivation (Schmidt et al., 2025).

Prospective teachers who feel that the teaching profession can provide them with the opportunity to meet those needs tend to have a greater interest in becoming teachers. Intrinsically motivated teachers tend to create a more positive and engaging school environment, which can improve OCB. Aspiring teachers who are aware of the positive impact they can have on the school through their motivation tend to have a greater interest in becoming teachers. Thus, self-determination theory provides a valuable framework for understanding how intrinsic motivational factors can influence interest in becoming a teacher. The accusations that affect the internal externals are School Culture, OCB, and Life Satisfaction, according to Amtu et al. (2020), which states that school culture affects teachers’ interests. School culture is a set of values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors practiced in an educational environment. Lim et al. (2023) mentions that this school culture creates creative, innovative, and visionary challenges. Creativity in learning will impact improving pedagogy (Hrmo et al., 2024). A good school culture encourages the improvement of teaching competence in schools as motivation for teachers (Ismail et al., 2022) and the quality of learning in developing students’ character (Furkan, 2014).

In addition to school culture, OCB is an external factor that has an interesting effect. OCB is the willingness of employees to do more work than has been set for them, support the success of well-being in the workplace, and be more active in volunteering (Alomar et al., 2021). However, the company’s responsibility to ease the burden of its employees’ costs is not optimal, especially in taxes and health insurance (Phuong and Dong, 2021). Jonbekova et al.’s (2023) findings show that sometimes, employees’ behavior in their engagement develops a greater appreciation of their workplace and their role in its development. Many employees voluntarily comply with workplace rules and policies, carry out additional tasks assigned to the workplace, and assist colleagues well. However, in an uncertain and dynamic work environment, individuals may admit to engaging in destructive behavior to avoid being perceived as damaging to their interests (Jiang and Xie, 2024). So, their involvement in the ancillary work is limited to pretense. They assume that additional duties are work outside of obligations, even though they have been planned and scheduled. Sometimes, these extra tasks cause staff to have a lot of work and impact burnout (Liberati et al., 2021). In the context of teachers, OCB gives birth to a willingness to carry out tasks that are not proportional to the income obtained and gives rise to the spirit of doing administrative tasks outside of assigned teaching hours.

Life satisfaction is another external factor that is suspected to affect teachers’ interests. Life satisfaction is a release from anxiety, depression, stress, a valuable environment, and a perfect work career (Grzegorzewska et al., 2025). According to Udayar et al. (2024), life satisfaction will encourage a person to commit to achieving a common goal, and other findings suggest that interest in life satisfaction is highly interconnected (Lawes et al., 2024). Therefore, exploring teachers’ interests in rural areas is essential by involving predictors of school culture, OCB, and the fulfillment of life satisfaction. Another reason is that there has been an education gap between urban and rural areas in Indonesia (Hardhantyo and Chuang, 2021). Teacher motivation is a key factor in improving the quality of learning in rural schools, so this research can help reduce gaps and provide fairer opportunities for students in remote areas. Rural schools have unique challenges, such as limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, and geographic isolation.

Understanding how these factors affect teacher motivation is essential to developing effective strategies for improving the quality of learning. Motivated teachers tend to be more innovative and dedicated in their work. This research can identify the factors that motivate teachers in rural schools and provide recommendations for increasing their motivation through training, support, and professional development. The results of this research can provide valuable information for policymakers in designing more effective programs and policies to improve the quality of education in rural schools. Make policies in teacher recruitment, placement, training, and development. Thus, research on teacher motivation in developing quality learning in rural schools in Indonesia is essential to improve the quality of education, reduce disparities, and prepare students for future challenges. This research is also relevant to the government’s efforts to improve the quality of Indonesia’s human resources (Indrawati and Kuncoro, 2021).

Meanwhile, research on rural education in Indonesia tends to focus more on infrastructure, accessibility, and student learning outcomes. Teacher motivation, as an essential factor in the quality of learning, often receives less attention. Empirical studies examining the factors influencing teacher motivation in rural schools are still limited. In-depth qualitative research (Werang et al., 2022), the experience and perspective of teachers in the field are also needed to understand the complexity of this issue. A comprehensive theoretical framework to explain teacher motivation in rural schools still needs to be developed. Existing motivational theories must be adapted and tested in Indonesia’s rural education context. Educational research in Indonesia is often published in local journals or reports that are difficult to access internationally, making it difficult for researchers and practitioners to find and utilize relevant findings.

The main objective of your research is to examine teacher interests shaped by school culture and Organizational Citizenship Behavior through fulfilling life satisfaction. To achieve this primary goal, there are several sub-objectives to achieve: (1) examining the influence of school culture on teacher interest, (2) examining the influence of culture on life satisfaction, (3) examining the influence of OCB on teacher interest, (4) examining the influence of OCB on life satisfaction. We suspect a positive school culture will increase teachers’ interest (hypothesis 1). Second, active teachers in OCB will increase their interest (hypothesis 2). Third, a positive school culture will increase life satisfaction (hypothesis 3). Fourth, teachers who are actively involved in Organizational Civic Behavior will show higher life satisfaction (hypothesis 4). Fifth, the teacher’s perceived life satisfaction will mediate between the school culture, OCB, and the teacher’s interest (hypothesis 5). These hypotheses form a model that explains how life satisfaction can affect teachers’ interests through two main pathways: school culture and OCB. These hypotheses refer to several theoretical frameworks: (1) organizational culture theory: this theoretical framework describes how the values, norms, and assumptions shared in an organization (in this case, schools) affect the behavior and attitudes of the organization’s members. A positive school culture can create an environment conducive to developing teachers’ interests and OCB behaviors (Fu et al., 2022). (2) Self-motivation theory: this theory describes how individuals are motivated to do things based on their basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and connectedness (Schmidt et al., 2025). When teachers feel that their interests align with the school’s cultural values and they have the autonomy to pursue them, they will feel more motivated and satisfied with their lives. (3) Social exchange theory: this theory explains how individuals engage in OCB behavior as a form of reciprocity toward the organization that has provided them with support and benefits. When teachers feel that the school provides support and appreciation for their contributions, they will be more motivated to engage in OCB behavior as a form of reciprocity. (4) Life satisfaction theory: this theory explains how individuals evaluate their overall quality of life based on work, social relationships, and health. When teachers feel satisfied with their work and have positive social relationships at school, they will feel more confident with their overall life. (5) Theory integration: We hypothesize how school culture and OCB can influence teachers’ interests through life satisfaction by integrating these four theories. A positive school culture creates an environment conducive to developing teachers’ interests and OCB behavior. When teachers feel that their interests align with the school’s culture and engage in OCB behavior, they will feel more satisfied with their work and lives.

School culture greatly influences the quality of teachers, and OCB, with the mediation of life satisfaction, school culture as an external factor shows that the school situation has an essential role in fostering teacher interest. Implementing a positive culture in schools can encourage teachers to develop innovations in learning. In addition, OCB is a source of motivation in improving the quality of education, and high life satisfaction also plays a role in fostering teachers’ interest. Teachers have life satisfaction when they get security appreciation and can actualize themselves in the school environment. This research implies a need for a program to develop teachers’ interests in remote villages by optimizing school culture and OCB and meeting the needs of life as an influencing factor. The results of this research can be the basis for decision-making in various fields, such as teacher recruitment, improving teacher welfare, and paving the way for further research. This study was limited to a sample of honorary teachers in rural areas. Additional research is needed in the future in wider rural areas or comparing rural and urban contexts.