Igniting the spark: The role of innovative partnerships in supporting quality graduates in regional, rural and remote schools

This chapter describes a strategy and partnership initiative employed by one regional university in Queensland Australia to encourage preservice teachers (PSTs) to experience what it would be like to teach and live in a Regional, Rural and Remote (RRR) school community. The teaching profession is experiencing worldwide workforce challenges, and this is amplified in Australian RRR locations. A vast number of government schools in Australia are in RRR locations making attracting and retaining teachers to these school communities a national educational priority. Indeed, in Queensland, where this regional university is situated, over half of all government schools are in RRR areas and employers face many challenges when trying to attract and retain teachers. Living and working in RRR locations offers many advantages and opportunities for teachers. PSTs who experience living and working in these areas better position themselves for employment in a RRR community following graduation. However, many PSTs have also cited ‘fear of the unknown’ and ‘lack of finances’ as reasons for not seeking a RRR professional experience whilst at university. This regional university has developed strategies and nurtured partnerships with philanthropists, community and industry partners, and employing bodies to support opportunities for PSTs to experience teaching and living in a RRR location. These authentic experiences afford PSTs the opportunity to visit and interact with a range of school personnel and communities in RRR locations, often leading to permanent employment and the further development of partnerships between the university and schools. In this chapter we detail this university’s strategy and partnership initiatives. We demonstrate how these innovative preparation programs fanned the initial sparks of PSTs interest and positively contribute to preparing PSTs for RRR professional experiences and employment. We reflect on the success of these partnerships in terms of the impact on PSTs and the RRR school communities they visit and the potential to attract quality graduate teachers to RRR locations.