Incentives sought for rural teachers Rural schools are struggling to keep good teachers.

125 words
19 May 2008
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News
English
(c) 2008 Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Researchers from Victoria are trying to find ways to encourage more teachers to work in rural communities.

Associate Professor Maxine Cooper from the University of Ballarat says the research is based on rural schools that already attract and keep experienced teachers.

She says existing incentives like Government funding need to be improved, to make rural education a long-term career option for teachers.

"We are looking at ways of attracting students to do that while they're in their pre-service education and we're hoping that that will be one of the factors that will encourage them to apply for jobs in rural and regional areas when they graduate," she said.

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LOCAL residents and school staff are being asked to
share their thoughts on ways to attract and retain staff
in rural schools.
Edith Cowan University (ECU) is collaborating with
three major universities in the eastern states on teaching
methods which prepare, attract and retain teaching
high-quality teaching staff in regional areas.
Communities are being asked to nominate local
schools which they feel have attracted good staff.
The university group will then study the schools'
methods as part of their report.
They will also look at ways that university teaching
courses can prepare trainee teachers for rural areas.
The project is called TERRA nova (meaning new
ground' in Teacher Education for Rural and Regional
Australia.
ECU director of primary education Graeme Lock
said that communities often played a role in retaining
teachers, but it was generally overlooked in studies of
this nature.
He said the TERRA nova project would examine
current incentive schemes that attempted to lure teachers
into regional areas and how universities equipped
new teachers with skills to address the specific needs
and circumstances of rural areas.
"We are looking to identify rural schools with successful
recruitment and retention strategies," Dr Locke
said.
"We hope community members and parents will
nominate schools where they feel the teachers are staying
long enough to really engage with students and
achieve successful outcomes.
"We will then study these communities in order to
determine both individual and general characteristics
of the locations that provide good educational and
social wellbeing for new teachers."
Nominations close on Friday, May 16 and are welcome
from all sections of the community.
To nominate a local school, call Dr Lock on 9370
6529, or email g.lock@ecu.edu.au

Attracting and keeping rural teachers not just about money

168 words
19 May 2008
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News
English
(c) 2008 Australian Broadcasting Corporation

University researchers are trying to work out why some schools in rural Australia are better at attracting and keeping teachers than others.

As part of a collaborative three-year project, researchers are looking at how effective incentives are in luring teachers to remote locations.

One of Queensland's more remote education providers is the Western Cape College on Cape York Peninsula.

Tony Whybird is the principal of the Weipa campus and he says money isn't everything in attracting staff.

"Experienced teachers like to think about the different lifestyle that's offered in remote areas," he said.

"So they might be interested in coming to Weipa or Aurukun and teaching and making a difference to kids' lives.

"But by and large I've met a lot of new teachers, a hundred new teachers have come into remote areas in the last couple of years, and they all genuinely want to make a difference for the kids in their care."

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Press Release: For Immediate Release

Bathurst, NSW
Friday, 21 March 2008

Rural communities naming schools which keep their teachers

Researchers at Charles Sturt University say the response to a preliminary invitation to rural communities to nominate schools that attract and retain high quality teachers is surprising.

Staffing rural, remote and regional schools is an increasing concern for education departments around Australia and teacher education researchers are trying to do something to help. A new ARC-funded project - which sees collaboration between Charles Sturt University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Ballarat and Deakin University – is studying successful strategies for preparing, attracting and retaining high-quality teachers for ‘hard-to-staff’ rural schools.

The project, TERRA nova (‘new ground’ in Teacher Education for Rural and Regional Australia’), is seeking the views of rural communities where new teachers come to live and work. Professor Jo-Anne Reid, who is leading the team at CSU, says: “The role of communities in retaining their teachers is important, and is generally overlooked in studies of this kind.”

But many communities around Australia have already responded to an early call from the Rural Education Forum Australia {REFA} network, with nominations received from as far away as Bruce Rock in WA and Robinson River in the NT, and several from NSW, Queensland and South Australia.

As Professor Reid explained, “The TERRA nova project will examine current incentive schemes that attempt to ‘lure’ teachers into the bush, but will also examine measures within universities to equip beginning teachers with skills to address the specific needs and circumstances of rural areas.” As well as attracting teachers to rural areas, however retaining quality teachers in rural areas is also vital.

“We are looking to identify even more rural schools with successful recruitment and retention strategies,” Professor Reid said. “We hope community members and parents will nominate schools where they feel the teachers are staying long enough to really engage with students and achieve successful outcomes. We will then study these communities in order to determine both individual and general characteristics of these places that make for good educational and social well-being.”

Nominations are welcome from all sections of the community. To nominate your local school, please contact Professor Reid on 02 63384341,or email: joreid@csu.edu.au .