Supporting beginning rural teachers : Lessons from successful schools
- Authors: White, Simone , Lock, Graeme , Hastings, Wendy , Reid, Joanne , Green, Bill , Cooper, Maxine
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at ‘Teacher education crossing borders: Cultures, contexts, communities and curriculum’ the annual conference of the Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA), Albury, New South Wales : 28th June - 1st July 2009
- Full Text:
- Description: Across Australia and internationally, the vexed problem of staffing rural school remains a major issue affecting the educational outcomes of many rural students and their families. TERRAnova, (New Ground’ in Teacher Education for Rural and Regional Australia), is the name of a large Australian Research Council funded (2008-2010) project involving: a national study of pre-service preparation and rural incentive schemes offered by both University and State government agencies, a longitudinal study of beginning teachers who take up rural appointments and a study of communities where teacher retention is high. In 2008 calls for nominations for rural schools with high rates of retaining beginning teachers were sought (over three years), and twenty-four of nearly fifty nominated schools were selected as case studies. Each case study has involved researchers from the TERRAnova team travelling and staying as close to the community nominated as possible. Numerous teaching staff, parents and community members were invited to be interviewed and their recordings were transcribed. Five of these case studies have now been completed, and this paper examines common themes derived from the strategies that support beginning teachers in these rural communities. Key factors emerging to date from the data relate to particular models of rural school leadership, ongoing teacher learning and mentoring, and school support and innovative community practices.
- Description: 2003008006
Teacher education for rural communities : A focus on ‘incentives’
- Authors: White, Simone , Green, Bill , Reid, Joanne , Lock, Graeme , Hastings, Wendy , Cooper, Maxine
- Date: 2008
- Type: Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2008 Australian Teacher Education Association National Conference: Teacher Educators at Work: What works and where is the evidence?, Novotel Twin Waters, Sunshine Coast, Queensland : 8th-11th July 2008 p. 381-390
- Full Text:
- Description: In Australia we face a national crisis in attracting and retaining teachers and other professionals with regard to rural areas. In response to this difficulty in ‘staffing the empty schoolhouse’ (Roberts 2004), the majority of state education departments have initiated some form of rural incentive scheme designed to attract teachers to rural schools. This paper argues that such schemes have little chance of success unless teachers taking up such incentives have actually been prepared for teaching in nonmetropolitan schools. Although many universities claim to prioritise rural and regional education and community development as part of their vision statements, in reality relatively few education providers reflect this rhetoric in their practice and only a handful have made direct links to such state-based schemes in pre-service teacher education, or initiated their own rural incentives. A preliminary study into pre-service preparation and rural incentive schemes, as part of a three-year ARC Discovery Grant, indicates that, nationally, the majority of Faculties and Schools of Education have no easily accessible or advertised incentive programs to encourage students to undertake a rural practicum. Nor do many reflect rural education in their course-work. This paper will introduce the ‘TERRAnova’ project, and then discuss findings of the preliminary work to date that has focussed on identifying incentives and their significance. Drawing on evidence collected from websites from Australian Universities representing all pre-service teacher education programs in the nation, we argue that few Faculties and Schools appear to see it necessary or desirable to provide students with links to information about particular state-based rural funding opportunities. We show how some, either directly or indirectly, imply the importance of a rural practicum, and that a few teacher education programs provide written advice to students who are considering taking up a rural practicum. It is unclear, however, whether follow-up advice is provided, so that the impact and effectiveness of such advice on students’ experiences and willingness to take rural education seriously can be questioned. Our analysis so far indicates that it is the regional universities which are more likely to address rural education needs, and on this basis we question the metro-centricity of teacher education practice more broadly and suggest ways of expanding the options of teachers in their initial teaching appointments.
- Description: 2003006408
Teacher education for rural communities: A focus on 'Incentives'
- Authors: White, Simone , Green, Bill , Reid, Joanne , Lock, Graeme , Hastings, Wendy , Cooper, Maxine
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: ATEA 2008:Teacher Educators at Work : What works and where is the evidence? Australian Teacher Education Association Conference
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In Australia we face a national crisis in attracting and retaining teachers and other professionals with regard to rural areas. In response to this difficulty in ‘staffing the empty schoolhouse’ (Roberts 2004), the majority of state education departments have initiated some form of rural incentive scheme designed to attract teachers to rural schools. This paper argues that such schemes have little chance of success unless teachers taking up such incentives have actually been prepared for teaching in nonmetropolitan schools. Although many universities claim to prioritise rural and regional education and community development as part of their vision statements, in reality relatively few education providers reflect this rhetoric in their practice and only a handful have made direct links to such state-based schemes in pre-service teacher education, or initiated their own rural incentives. A preliminary study into pre-service preparation and rural incentive schemes, as part of a three-year ARC Discovery Grant, indicates that, nationally, the majority of Faculties and Schools of Education have no easily accessible or advertised incentive programs to encourage students to undertake a rural practicum. Nor do many reflect rural education in their course-work. This paper will introduce the ‘TERRAnova’ project, and then discuss findings of the preliminary work to date that has focussed on identifying incentives and their significance. Drawing on evidence collected from websites from Australian Universities representing all pre-service teacher education programs in the nation, we argue that few Faculties and Schools appear to see it necessary or desirable to provide students with links to information about particular state-based rural funding opportunities. We show how some, either directly or indirectly, imply the importance of a rural practicum, and that a few teacher education programs provide written advice to students who are considering taking up a rural practicum. It is unclear, however, whether follow-up advice is provided, so that the impact and effectiveness of such advice on students’ experiences and willingness to take rural education seriously can be questioned. Our analysis so far indicates that it is the regional universities which are more likely to address rural education needs, and on this basis we question the metro-centricity of teacher education practice more broadly and suggest ways of expanding the options of teachers in their initial teaching appointments.