Bush Tracks : The Opportunities and Challenges of Rural Teaching and Leadership

Transitioning from place to place has been identified as a key marker of many teachers’ lives. Notions of place and transition have been researched for new teachers as they move from university to rural teaching positions; and, for experienced teachers who may move from school to school, town to city, city to rural town. Since 2002, the Bush Tracks Research Group has explored the lived experience of teachers in rural schools. Bush Tracks: The Opportunities and Challenges of Rural Teaching and Leadership is a compilation of more than a decade of research conducted by this multidisciplinary group of academics from the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia. Employing a variety of methodologies, these researchers have worked to understand the intimate lives of teachers working in rural schools – the personal and professional challenges of being in relentlessly close proximity to students and their families; the supports needed to continue professional pathways; and the opportunities for accelerated leadership, all while living in the ‘fishbowl’ of a rural community. Chapters also explore the working lives of small school principals, specifically, some of the innovative methods they use to circumvent metrocentric policies; how ingenuity can resolve challenging teaching and leadership situations; and, what can be done to reconcile sometimes conflicting roles. This book will be of interest to all teachers who have ‘gone bush’, or have ever wanted to; and, to teacher educators who want a text that is nuanced in discussing the challenges and opportunities of teaching in rural schools. TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 1. A MODEL FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH 8 INTRODUCTION 8 BACKGROUND 8 SHARED VALUES 9 PRODUCTIVE RESEARCH PROCESES 10 DISEMINATION OF FINDINGS 11 SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP 11 MENTORING AND COLABORATIVE OPORT UNITIES 12 ORGANISATION OF THIS BOOK 12 PROFILE OF THE BUSH TRACKS RESEARCH GROUP 14 2. HISTORY AND CONTEXT OF OUR RESEARCH 17 INTRODUCTION 17 EARLY SCHOOLING IN AUSTRALIA 17 THE LOCK-STEP SYSTEM OF SCHOOLING 19 CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH: SCHOOLS 19 CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH: RURAL CLASES AND PEDAGOGY 20 CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH: TEACHERS 22 CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH: ISSUES 23 SUMMARY 26 REFERENCES 27 3. METHODOLOGIES: Exploring the Intimate 30 INTRODUCTION 30 BACKGROUND 30 FOCUSING ON THE CONECTIONS BETWEN TEACHING, MOVEMENT AND PLACE 31 SHARED RESEARCH PRINCIPLES 31 METHODOLOGY: A FOCUS ON INTIMATE STORIES 33 THE BUSH TRACKS METHODOLOGY 35 Bush Tracks Research Project 1 35 Bush Tracks Research Project 2 (BT2) 38 CONCLUSION 42 NOTES 44 REFERENCES 44 4. LISTENING TO TEACHERS IN THE ‘BUSH’ 46 INTRODUCTION 46 RURAL TEACHING 46 PERCEIVED DISADVANTAGES OF RURAL TEACHING 47 PERCEIVED ADVANTAGES OF RURAL TEACHING 48 PROFESIONAL LEARNING 48 RESEARCH METHODS 49 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 49 CONCLUSION 54 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 58 REFERENCES 58 5. IMAGINING A TEACHER-PLACE ASSEMBLAGE 61 INTRODUCTION 61 THE STOR Y OF THE RESEARCH – A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE 62 RURAL TEACHING 63 PLACE 64 THE DELEUZO-GUATTARIAN ‘ASSEMBLAGE’ 65 THE METHODOLOGY 67 EXPLORING THE ASSEMBLAGES 69 Place 69 Teaching 70 Relationships 71 Becoming Teacher in Place 73 IMAGINING A TEACHER-PLACE ASSEMBLAGE 76 IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION 77 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS 78 NOTES 79 REFERENCES 80 6. AFFECTUAL LANGUAGE IN TEACHERS’ TALK 82 INTRODUCTION 82 RESEARCHING EMOTIONS IN EDUCATION 83 ANALYSING THE REPRESENTATION OF EMOTION IN THE TEACHERS’ TALK 84 Un/happiness 84 In/security 86 Dis/satisfaction 87 DISCUSSION 88 CONCLUSION 89 NOTE 90 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 90 REFERENCES 90 7. ACELERATED LEADERSHIP IN RURAL SCHOOLS 93 INTRODUCTION 93 TEACHING IN RURAL SCHOOLS 93 METHOD 94 ACCES TO LEADERSHIP OPPORT UNITIES 96 NEXUS OF PERSONAL AND THE PROFESIONAL 99 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 101 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 103 REFERENCES 103 8. LATE-CAREER WOMEN LEADERS IN RURAL SCHOOLS 106 INTRODUCTION 106 FEMALE SCHOOL LEADERS 106 RESEARCH DESIGN 108 Participants 108 Interview/Research Questions 109 Data Analysis 109 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 110 CONCLUSIONS 117 NOTE 118 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 118 REFERENCES 118 9. TEACHING PRINCIPALS’ STORIES 120 INTRODUCTION 120 DEFINING TEACHING PRINCIPALS 120 THE CONTEXT OF TEACHING PRINCIPALS 122 THE VALUE OF NARATIVE INQUIRY 123 Teaching Principals and Narratives 123 STORIES OF TEACHING PRINCIPALS 124 Ted’s Story 124 Carmel’s Story 126 Diane’s Story 127 Frank’s Story 129 DISCUSSION 131 CONCLUSION 131 REFERENCES 132 10. TEACHING PRINCIPALS: The ‘I’s Have It! 135 (1) THE ‘I’S FROM THE LITERAT URE 136 Inexperience 137 Isolation 138 Impossible to Remain Invisible 139 Interaction with the Community 140 Interpersonal Skills 141 (2) THE ‘I’S FROM OUR RESEARCH 144 Isolation can have Positive Outcomes 144 Imagination/Ingenuity/Initiative/Innovation/Inspiration 146 Interruptions 147 Integrity 148 Identity 150 Ill-health 151 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 152 REFERENCES 154 11. TAKING THE BUSH TRACK HOME 157 INTRODUCTION 157 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 157 Pre-service Teacher Education Students and Programs 157 In-service Teacher Education Experiences 158 Professional Learning and Ongoing Support for Teachers 160 Support for Leaders and Teaching Principals 160 Recommendations from the Bush Tracks Research Projects 161 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 162 REFERENCES 163 Front Matter....Pages i-v A Model for Collaborative Research....Pages 1-9 History and Context of Our Research....Pages 11-23 Methodologies....Pages 25-40 Listening to Teachers in the ‘Bush’....Pages 41-55 Imagining a Teacher-Place Assemblage....Pages 57-77 Affectual Language in Teachers’ Talk.....Pages 79-89 Acelerated Leadership in Rural Schools....Pages 91-103 Late-Career Women Leaders in Rural Schools....Pages 105-118 Teaching Principals’ Stories....Pages 119-133 Teaching Principals....Pages 135-156 Taking the Bush Track Home....Pages 157-165