Rural teachers are the core force driving the development of rural education and cultural revitalization. The spirit of educators plays a significant guiding and reinforcing role in shaping rural teachers’ beliefs, directly influencing their commitment to educational ideals and long-term, stable dedication to teaching. As a spiritual resource with profound historical roots and contemporary characteristics, the spirit of educators not only reshapes rural teachers’ understanding of their educational mission at the value level but also guides them in establishing identification with rural education at the practical level. This spirit can provide rural teachers with both subjective motivation and structural support for building their professional beliefs. Currently, there remains room for improvement in leveraging the spirit of educators to strengthen rural teachers’ beliefs: pre-service teacher education lacks targeted efforts in cultivating students’ commitment to rural teaching; in-service development faces constraints in fostering professional identity among rural teachers; and external support systems offer insufficient institutional backing for the development of teachers’ beliefs. Rural teacher workforce development is undergoing a deep transformation from merely “getting teachers down to rural areas” to ensuring them “stay and teach effectively.” Relying solely on material incentives or policy preferences cannot fundamentally address issues such as wavering beliefs and professional burnout. With its rich values and practical wisdom, the spirit of educators offers crucial spiritual resources and methodological guidance for constructing teachers’ beliefs during this transformative period. The cultivation of educators’ spirit empowers the belief construction of rural teachers, which in practice requires following the following pathways: integrating the spirit of educators into teacher education programs to nurture the foundational beliefs of pre-service teachers; incorporating this spirit into professional development to enhance the belief awareness of in-service teachers; and embedding it within institutional support systems to foster a healthy belief ecosystem for rural teachers. Looking ahead, further improvements in policy and institutional safeguards are needed, along with the establishment of school-based transformation mechanisms, to strengthen and empower a dedicated and deeply rooted rural teaching force.