Abstract:
)This presentation will focus on the transition of new scheme teachers into their first year of teaching in rural schools. Specifically, thirty-nine respondents (29 female and 10 male) completed a survey designed to probe their perceived levels of readiness and comfort when considering teaching in a rural school as their first posting. An important factor in the background data of these teacher candidates was that the majority identified their hometown as rural and/or as a small town. This finding confirms previous findings that many teachers in rural settings originate from small rural and remote communities. In-depth analysis of responses to the following questions will form the basis of this presentation: • Are there differences between rural and urban teaching? • How do you describe yourself as a teacher? • What constitutes good rural teaching? The concepts and themes emerging from this analysis will be discussed in terms of the current context surrounding pre-service teacher education programs, including increased accountability, the requirement to be more responsive to individual needs, and the call for teacher candidates to be ‘classroom ready’, and what this means for teacher candidates entering the profession in rural and remote settings.