Negotiating Teaching as a Career at a Rural Elementary School: A Qualitative Inquiry

• In Event: 60.083 - Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 60.083-7 - Rural Teacher Preparation and Professional Development

Abstract

This study explored how a rural elementary school and community situated teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Central Turkey and how a beginning English language teacher experienced his first year of teaching at a rural elementary school. The findings revealed significant themes and three major conclusions were made. First, the findings revealed that there are four keys to being a successful teacher in a rural setting. These include appreciation of rural life, passion for rural teaching, aspiration for teaching profession and readiness for teaching. In this study, there were two factors leading the English language teacher to work in Snowflake village. These were: appreciation of rural life and passion for rural teaching.

Authors

• Zeynep Başer, Middle East Technical University

• A. Cendel Karaman, Middle East Technical University