Establishing a sense of place and space in Rural, Regional and Remote contexts for pre-service and graduate teachers

The current staffing crises our Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) schools are encountering identifies the need for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers to prepare and promote RRR locations to their pre-service teachers to ensure qualified teachers are employed in RRR locations. Teaching in a RRR context carries with it unique challenges and exceptional opportunities that are often difficult for graduate teachers to comprehend, particularly when they have no prior experience of these locations. For some time, RRR schools across all Australian states and territories have struggled to attract and retain qualified teachers resulting in calls to better prepare preservice teachers for RRR teaching (Trinidad et al, 2014), since the majority of Queensland schools (63%) are in RRR locations. This research explores the professional, economic, cultural, social, and personal barriers to graduate teachers working within RRR locations, as seen through the eyes of the University’s alumni working in these RRR contexts. This research adopts a critical ethnographic approach that aims to inform and assist pre-service and graduate teachers to have a greater understanding and awareness of life in RRR communities. The qualitative data collected includes interview transcripts, photo stories and qualitative responses which together provide a rich array of the participant’s experiences teaching in RRR communities. The data has been analysed thematically and generated a rich description of experiences in the field, both written and photographic data. The results of this initial study have been used to broaden pre-service teachers’ understandings of and preparedness for teaching in RRR locations. Research on the impact of this foundational project on pre-service and graduate teachers’ confidence and preparedness to undertake teaching positions in RRR locations is ongoing. The work to attract graduate teachers to RRR communities is one of critical ethical importance to ITE providers as we seek to reduce the reliance on unqualified PTT applicants in RRR schools. If more qualified teachers can be attracted to RRR communities, then this will go some way to redressing the current imbalance and improve educational outcomes for children in diverse and marginalised RRR schools.