Attracting teachers to rural and remote Queensland: A case study
Abstract
For many years the supply of graduate teachers, including specialist secondary teachers for Queensland state schools, has largely met demand. In recent years however, attracting and retaining specialist teachers in some Queensland locations and curriculum areas has become more challenging.
Reflective of wider Australian and international trends, balancing the supply of specialist teachers to meet current and future demands requires planning and early action. Taking a traditional approach to recruiting teachers (as vacancies arise) can result in shortfalls when unplanned absences, retirements and promotions occur unexpectedly. Subjects that are already hard to fill such as senior mathematics and science, English, languages, industrial technology and design (manual arts) are even more elusive in the middle of a school term. Many schools located in low socio-economic, regional, rural and remote communities are also experiencing challenges in recruiting teachers for the breadth of learning phases and curriculum areas.
Manuscripts submitted for publication should not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. It is the responsibility of authors to secure release of any copyright materials included in their manuscripts, and to provide written evidence of this to the editors. If accepted and published, papers become the copyright of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education.
Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are subject to editorial revision. The Editorial Committee cannot guarantee that all contributions will be published nor give definite dates of publication. However, contributors will be advised if their papers are not accepted or if there will be a long publication delay.
