What attracts teachers to rural and remote schools? Incentivising teachers' employment choices in New South Wales

• Published in: The Australian journal of education Vol. 66; no. 2; pp. 115 - 139
• Main Authors: Burke, Paul F, Buchanan, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Camberwell, Vic SAGE Publications 01.08.2022; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Administration; Discrete choice experiments; Education; Employment; Equal Education; Foreign Countries; Geographic isolation; Incentives; Labor Turnover; Occupations; Online surveys; Practice; Preferences; Primary secondary education; Regional Schools; Rural education; Rural Schools; Schools; Social conditions; Sociological aspects; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher employment; Teacher employment benefits; Teacher Motivation; Teacher Persistence; Teacher Qualifications; Teacher recruitment; Teacher Shortage; Teacher supply and demand; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Conditions; Teaching Experience; Australia; New South Wales; discrete choice experiment; equity in education; teaching employment incentives; rural and remote education; teaching employment conditions; teacher choice
• ISSN: 0004-9441; 2050-5884
• DOI: 10.1177/00049441211066357

Staffing rural and regional schools remains an intractable problem. This study identifies effective incentives for attracting teachers to difficult-to-staff rural and remote schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Compared to their urban counterparts, students in these schools are disadvantaged by teacher staff shortages, inexperience and attrition. The research investigated the ability for existing incentives of the NSW Department of Education, other education systems and other professions to attract professionals to rural and remote appointments using a discrete choice experiment methodology. The findings identify ways of attracting teachers of differing levels of experience and commitment to work in such areas.