Listening to Country Voices: Preparing Attracting and Retaining Teachers for Rural and Remote Areas

Abstract

In recent years there has been concern about the equitable provision of education services across metropolitan and rural areas in Australia (Lunn 1997). In particular, much of the debate has revolved around the allocation and distribution of educational and community based resources and the extent to which they hnpact on the lives of teachers living aud working in geographicaliy isolated in areas. Recent political and social debate has highlighted a perceived disenfranchisement and marginalisation of rural and remote community which may be reflected in students learning outcomes in these areas. In this paper we examine two aspects of this debate. Firstly, what issues do local community members highlight as needing to be addressed, in terms of preparing, attracting and retaining teachers for teaching positions in rural and remote areas. Secondly, how can pre-service education courses incorporate the perceived needs of the local community into current programs. In particular, we examine the trial of a mentor/internship program underway at Queensland University of Technology. The program aims to develop partnerships between schools, university, education departments and local communities to better prepare beginning teachers for the particular needs of the rural community.

Early Career Leadership Opportunities in Australian Rural Schools

“…The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC, 2000) national inquiry into rural and remote education concluded that there is a crisis facing rural schools in terms of attracting new teachers. This crisis relates to the preparation, recruitment and retention of rural teachers, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics, and special education teaching (Appleton, 1998;Herrington & Herrington, 2001;White, 2006;Yarrow, Herschell & Millwater, 1999). Similar situations have been identified in the United States (Bolich, 2001;Brewster & Railsback, 2001) and New Zealand (Lang, 1999).…”

Students’ Career Intention to Teach in Rural Areas by Region and Household Registration: A Study of Students at an Eastern Chinese Local Normal University

“…Rural schools in less developed areas of China confront a severe teacher shortage. Rural teachers face several challenges, including low pay, inadequate social support, limited professional development, a lack of incentive mechanisms, a higher number of problem students, complex class management, low social status, poor living conditions, potential cultural conflicts, and so on [4,5]. According to a survey of 5554 instructors in China's Wuling Mountains Zone, the supply of teachers in rural schools is also limited by geography, emotion, and institution [6].…”

Questionable Practices? Relying on Individual Teacher Resilience in Remote Schools

“…For example, pre-service teacher education programs should provide theoretical and practical components that equip early career teachers to teach multi-age classes (Baills et al, 2002) and Indigenous students (Halsey, 2005;Lock, 2008) competently and with confidence. Addressing these challenges at a systemic level should improve the quality of education that teachers provide to students in remote schools (Yarrow et al, 1999).…”

“…Having previously lived in a rural location, it can be said that Meg possessed 'social capital' and a 'sense of rural social space' , which assisted her to reside and work in a remote location (Baills et al, 2002;Lock et al, 2009;White & Reid, 2008). Furthermore, Meg demonstrated agency by drawing on this capital and being proactive in developing relationships with the local community (Sharplin, 2002;Yarrow et al, 1999).…”

“…More specifically, past research has indentified many policy and practice initiatives that support early career teachers in rural and remote schools. For example, innovative practices have been identified that utilise web-based technologies to reduce professional isolation (Herrington & Herrington, 2001), provide developmental induction including quality mentors (Irinaga-Bistolas et al, 2007), foster support networks (Lock, 2008) and provide specialised pre-service learning experiences (Yarrow, Herschell, & Millwater, 1999).…”