5. Retention of staff
Overview
The stability of a school is dependent to some extent on the stability of the staffing arrangements. A constant turnover of staff can cause difficulties for school curriculum programs and affect the learning outcomes for the children.
Curriculum is sometimes repeated by staff who have no idea of what has been taught before. New staff must adjust to new children and build trust, just as students have to adjust to new staff members. Teaching styles and teaching strategies must be relatively consistent. The development of literacy requires the learning of literacy tools. When teachers change, so may the literacy approach. One teacher may favour the phonic approach to literacy while another may use the whole word approach. This can cause some confusion for children as they learn the literacy tools. Continuity of staff is therefore an important goal for rural and remote schools.
The challenge for education bodies across Australia is to increase the retention rates of staff in rural and remote schools. These teachers do not feel inclined to stay past a minimum period when the conditions under which they operate are isolating and under resourced.
Research indicates that:
One frequently cited concern that rural communities must acknowledge and address in their recruitment and retention practices is isolation. Research conducted on rural professionals who leave their communities after a short time clearly establishes isolation as the main reason.Last updated 2 December 2001.In some rural communities, the professional will encounter other cultures and world views to the one(s) they know. These differences can be exciting, challenging and inviting to participate in the new rural culture, as well as being sources of anxiety, isolation and alienation. In the more isolated and remote rural locations where the rural professional interacts with the dominant Aboriginal culture, the process of adjustment and socialisation may be more difficult. Research by Crowther (1988) on teachers in Aboriginal communities in rural Queensland and the Northern Territory suggested that the differences in cultural perspectives were one of the main contributory factors in the high turnover rate of these professionals.
The degree of integration into the local community in which the rural teacher and professional work is likely to exert an influence - possible consideration- upon their preparedness to stay .. Boylan (1991) found that long-staying rural teachers believed on the whole, their work was valued by their communities, their contributions to the community were valued and the community valued having the teacher living locally (Boylan & Bandy 1994, page 154).
