Can a Week Make a Difference? Changing Perceptions about Teaching and Living in Rural Alaska

Colin R. Boylan,T. R. Munsch

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v29i2.469

Abstract

    Many Alaskan schools are located in extremely remote or 'fly-in' places. These geographical extremes affect the recruitment and retention of teachers to remote rural schools. Through a partnership between the Southwest Region School District of Alaska and the Department of Education at Alaska Pacific University (APU), 14 pre-service teachers participated in a one-week remote rural practice teaching experience. These APU students lived and taught in village schools where indigenous Alaska Natives were the majority and whose language is Yup’ik. Through the use of pre and post experience questionnaires, the pre-service teachers’ views about rural teaching and seeking rural appointments were sought.    

Highlights

The challenging issues of teacher recruitment and retention in many western countries including the USA, Canada, and Australia have been identified as priority concerns by federal, state and provincial education departments (Collins, 1999; Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, HREOC, 2000; Jimerson, 2005; Lowe, 2006)
As part of the pre-service elementary program at Alaska Pacific University, students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching program (MAT) program and enrolled in the BA TTP program are offered the opportunity to participate in the remote rural practicum program
The Beyond the Line program is conducted over a five-day period and like Alaska Pacific University’s Remote Rural Practicum program is designed to encourage pre-service teachers to apply for rural teaching appointments (Boylan & Wallace, 2002)

Summary

Introduction

The challenging issues of teacher recruitment and retention in many western countries including the USA, Canada, and Australia have been identified as priority concerns by federal, state and provincial education departments (Collins, 1999; Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, HREOC, 2000; Jimerson, 2005; Lowe, 2006). One such strategy targeting pre-service teacher trainees is a program called ‘Beyond the Line’ which is similar in design to the APU program in which students spend a week in rural and remote NSW schools (New South Wales Department of Education and Training, NSWDET, 2001) Coupled with this significant teacher recruitment challenge, Alaska is geographically the largest state yet is one of the more sparsely populated states. Gibson (1994) and Halsey (2005) have further clarified the specialized needs and both authors agree that one significant recruitment strategy in pre-service teacher education programs is the inclusion of, at least, one practice teaching experience where their students experience teaching and living in rural and remote locations. One problem with such programs is that some students for financial, familial, or employment related reasons are unable to participate in these rural practice teaching experiences

Teacher Shortages in Alaska

The Remote Rural Practicum Program

Purpose of the Study

The Participants and Setting

Questionnaire Results

Have you completed a rural or remote practicum?

No privacy

Similar problems in urban schools Limited supplies Absence of rules

Adjustment to rural life