Examining the Role of Rural Subjectivity in Addressing the Problem of Rural School Staffing

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Rural School Staffing: Teacher and Leader Preparation

Abstract

The last Australian government reviews on teacher education and rural education reveal that staffing schools continues to be a challenge. This resonates with historical research trends that affirm that rural schools have trouble in recruiting and retaining staff. To examine this problem, the paper draws on data from interviews with urban pre-service teachers undertaking a rural teaching placement. Interviews with participants took place before, during and after their rural school placement. Drawing on findings, I argue that the solution to this problem might be in more recognition and less distribution; that is, in placing the emphasis on the cultural status of rural schooling and identifying prospective teachers with rural subjectivities rather than on material incentives to make rural schools attractive.

Author

• Hernan Cuervo, University of Melbourne