I Want to Teach in the Regional Areas: A Qualitative Study about Teachers’ Career Experiences and Decisions in Regional Australia

Abstract

The Australian government seeks to develop regional and rural communities and school systems. One of the challenges would be the human resources and workforce for registered and qualified teachers, particularly in the field of Languages Other Than English (LOTE). Based on social cognitive career theory (Dos Santos, 2021a; Lent et al., 1994), this study focused on the career perspectives and career decision-making processes of registered and qualified teachers in the field of Languages Other Than English (LOTE). The following research question guided the direction of this study, why would registered and qualified teachers in the Languages Other Than English (LOTE) field (i.e. foreign languages) decide to move to Australian regional and rural communities to develop their teaching career? With the general inductive approach, 18 participants were invited for the interview sessions and focus group activities. The results of this study indicated that missions and goals for development in the regional and rural communities and governmental encouragement for regional and rural developments are the two personal consideration elements. The sharing and comments become a blueprint for government agencies, school leaders, and policymakers to reform the current human resources plans and schemes to attach additional workforce to the regional and rural communities, particularly for teachers. Received: 20 May 2021 / Accepted: 13 July 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021