One ongoing challenge that educator preparation programs frequently encounter is their limited ability to authentically expose preservice teachers (PSTs) to rural schools and potential careers in rural school districts. To remedy this concern, faculty at three institutions in both the United States and Australia have developed targeted initiatives designed to provide initial exposure to rural schools, build a rural-intensive element within a practicum course, and establish rural immersion experiences for PSTs. A detailed look at the structure of these programs, a comparison of these three diverse approaches, and recommendations for the expansion and sustainability of these efforts are highlighted within this narrative. Through this comparison of activities being advanced in both countries, the authors provide a better understanding of the options and effectiveness related to initial rural school exposure.
The aim of this study was to explore the potential of a service-learning immersion program to promote pre-service teachers' development of cultural competency in the area of Aboriginal education. That is, the research focused on ways the immersion program helped pre-service teachers (a) develop awareness of cultural implications in teaching in a remote school and (b) understand and respect Aboriginal people with a view to reconciliation. The program has operated since 2013 and occurs in a remote Aboriginal school and community in Western Australia. The duration of the immersion is eight days and is open to early childhood, primary and secondary pre-service teachers. The underlying epistemology of the research is constructivist, specifically interpretivist in nature, with a symbolic interactionist lens. That is, the research attempts to ‘give voice’ to the participants through their own language. Content analysis was the methodology used to explore the pre-service teachers’ experiences and perceptions while undertaking their service-learning immersion. Data collection methods included focus group interviews, participant journals and a questionnaire.These data were collected over a four-year span from 2014 to 2017. The findings indicate that the service-learning immersion has enabled pre-service teachers to explore their interests and passion to teach Aboriginal students in both rural and remote locations.
At a time when social, economic and political decisions, along with environmental events, challenge the viability of remote communities, educators need to better prepare young people in these communities to work towards sustainability. Remote locations can be defined by their inaccessibility rather than just distance from the nearest services, while the sustainability construct encapsulates a range of community needs: environmental, social, cultural and economic. This paper describes experiences that involve innovative approaches towards educating for sustainability in remote locations in six diverse countries: South Africa, Scotland, Canada, United States of America, Pacific Island Nations, and Australia. For each, the nature of what constitutes a “remote” location, as well as the detail and challenges of the innovation are presented. Readers should consider how they might more suitably educate the next generation to protect, showcase and learn from/with the local knowledges and capacities of the people and environments in remote locations.
Upcoming changes in the teacher labor supply will have an impact on nations that provide government-based education for their youth. Faced with a significant global shortfall of educators, most countries have taken steps to incentivize teaching as a profession and ensure that qualified teachers are available to students in all locations – particularly in rural environments. To understand these initiatives more thoroughly, a short-term policy analysis focused on incentives for teacher labor through a lens of governmental policy implementation has been completed. This resulted in a review of the efforts three nations (Australia, the United States and Zambia) have undertaken to ensure a viable and consistent teacher workforce in rural areas. While each nation has specific factors that contribute to current and projected shortages, each also provides unique solutions to assist in resolving this ongoing issue. Through the examination of multiple hiring factors and incentives used in each location, a better understanding of the specific challenges and strategies employed to secure a viable teaching workforce has been developed. Outcomes related to this policy analysis showed commonalities in the lack of developed strategies to prepare rural educators to address teacher shortages in more remote regions. In addition, while education leaders in each country continue to publicly call for additional support for rural teachers – very little legislation or policy implementation has been enacted to bolster this subsection of public education in any of the specified nations. Additional discussion about the long-term concerns regarding rural teacher supply and student equity is also developed.
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