The Role of an Authentic Curriculum and Pedagogy for Rural Schools and the Professional Satisfaction of Rural Teachers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v23i2.664Keywords:
curriculum, pedagogy, professional satisfaction, rural place, teacher self-efficacyAbstract
Teachers in rural schools are often caught in a binary between a curriculum and ‘official’ pedagogies that value cosmopolitan ways of being and their own situated concerns for the interests of the students they teach and the communities in which they live. In this paper I draw on the example of two categories of (history) teachers, those who locate their practice in place and those who value a more bureaucratic approach to their work, in order to explore the question of an authentic rural curriculum (and pedagogy). The paper draws upon a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews with newly appointed teachers in rural school, experienced rural teachers and experts with systemic responsibilities or experience related to quality education in general. On a number of key issues of curriculum and pedagogy the data gathered grouped around two distinct views; that rural schools are different and that teachers need to be prepared for this difference and recognize it in their curriculum, or that all schools are the same regardless of location and what matters is the quality of the teaching. As a result of this study I suggest that teachers who reinterpret the curriculum and situate their pedagogy in the places they work are better placed to meet the educational needs of their students and their own professional goals.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2013 Phillip Roberts
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education.
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.
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.