ERIC Number: EJ1357721
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Mar
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0313-5373
EISSN: EISSN-1835-517X
Teacher Education for a Rural-Ready Teaching Force: Swings, Roundabouts, and Slippery Slides?
Roberts, Philip; Downes, Natalie; Reid, Jo-Anne
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, v47 n3 Article 6 p94-111 Mar 2022
The preparation of teachers for rural schools has been a significant focus of research for many decades. In this paper we update previous reports of the extent of Initial Teacher Education courses that prepare teachers for rural schools in Australia. We found that despite significant and continued calls for rural teacher education, there are still very few rural-teaching units offered in teacher education courses, and there are no courses at all that seek this as an explicit outcome. As the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching claim the importance of teachers understanding students and their contexts, we argue that effective teacher education must not only focus on understanding rurality, and developing awareness of the affordances of place, but must also address the pedagogical requirements for present day rural teaching. We argue that the lack of teacher preparation for locational, geographic forms of social difference works to produce and sustain educational disadvantage when these intersect with economic and cultural difference. On this basis we call for government to address this major failing in the provision of education for Australian children through policy change to teaching standards.
Descriptors: Rural Schools, Preservice Teacher Education, Foreign Countries, Program Evaluation, Teacher Effectiveness, Elective Courses, Required Courses, Practicums
Edith Cowan University. Bradford Street, Mount Lawley, West Australia 6050, Australia. Web site: http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A