Currently education providers are facing unprecedented staffing shortage where schools are struggling to employ qualified teachers to teach across early childhood, primary and secondary school sectors. A teacher shortage is being felt worldwide because of increasing population, declining initial teacher education (ITE) enrolments, an ageing teacher workforce, the competitive global teaching market, and the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022).

This shortage has reached crisis point for Regional, Rural and Remote (RRR) schools. In one jurisdiction in Australia 83.7% of teaching vacancies (https://smartjobs.qld.gov.au) are in locations outside of the capital city. It is well known that teaching in a RRR context can be fraught with complications and challenges unique to the RRR context, for example isolation, access to goods and services and professional development.  For some time, RRR schools across all Australian states and territories have struggled to attract and retain qualified teachers (Hudson & Hudson, 2019; Kline & Walker-Gibbs, 2015). The staffing crisis in schools that is exacerbated in our RRR communities is an area of need that should be addressed by ethical and inclusive ITE providers working in partnership with RRR schools to ensure qualified teachers are employed in schools, with particular attention to those schools and communities in RRR locations.

One of the initiatives adopted across Australia to address the teacher employment problem is providing teacher registration prior to preservice teachers (PSTs) graduating from their ITE program. These positions are often filled by PSTs who undertake a teaching position while studying. While some schools address the teacher shortage in this way, this has implications for the quality of education being provided. Ensuring not only an adequate supply of teachers, but skilled teachers is essential to continue improving teaching and learning outcomes.

Anecdotally, PSTs have varying experiences whilst on an early teaching contract. Some preservice teachers have their school timetable reduced to allow additional time to complete their university coursework. Other PSTs have reported that they cannot be released for online classes. It can be assumed that this is due to the dire teacher shortage and these PSTs are needed to cover classes. Other PSTs have experienced mental health issues as the pressures of studying and teaching before being fully qualified became too much. This resulted in them withdrawing from either or both their studies and the early teaching contract.

Australia has engaged in a National School Reform to promote equity and excellence with the aim for all young Australians to become “successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens” (Australian Government Department of Education, 2018, p. 3). Australia’s stability and economic prosperity is reliant on quality education of young Australians who will become Australia’s future. It is acknowledged that teachers have the greatest impact on improving student learning (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022). Ensuring not only an adequate supply of teachers, but skilled teachers is essential to continue improving teaching and learning outcomes.

With an absence of research, it is unclear how well-prepared PSTs are to begin their teaching career prior to graduation, or what supports there are to ensure quality education is maintained for school students, and that PSTs are nurtured and inducted into the profession. This is this study’s aims.

The research questions are:

What are the experiences of preservice teachers undertaking an early teaching contract?

What enablers and constraints have preservice teachers on an early teaching contract experienced in relation to practice architectures surrounding the early teaching contract?

What opportunities can be explored or currently exist that might enhance work/study practices for the diverse needs of preservice teachers on an early teaching contract?    

This project is an Ethnographic study of the experiences (Mills & Morton, 2013) of PSTs undertaking early teaching contracts in Australia. Ethnography is useful for understanding ways of working and living as it studies social behaviours, dispositions and interactions between people and their environments in particular fields and generates rich descriptions of the everyday complexities of living and learning (Mills & Morton, 2013). This research will describe and interpret the stories of PSTs who are undertaking early teaching contracts. This research will specifically adopt the stance of critical ethnography as the researchers will take an advocacy perspective where they will support PSTs undertaking early teaching contracts as a marginalised group by sharing their stories, and empowering them by giving them voice (Ary, Jacobs & Sorensen, 2010). Participants will be recruited through purposive sampling. Current PSTs on an early teaching contract (n=30) will be invited to participate. Data will be gathered through a survey and semi-structured interview. Survey: Participants will be invited to complete a short (approx. 15 minute) survey to rate and share their experiences of undertaking a PTT contract whilst simultaneously completing their ITE degree. The survey will solicit quantitative responses to establish the demographics of the cohort, and qualitative items so that individual experiences pertaining to early teaching contract issues can be shared and reflected on. Semi-structured Interview: Participants may opt in to participate in follow-up interviews to share their experiences while on an early teaching contract. Ethnographic interviews will investigate participants’ contextual professional experiences relating to undertaking an early teaching contract whilst completing their ITE degree. In this way, participants can share their experiences and discuss the needs of PSTs who choose to undertake an early teaching contract. Semi-structured interviews allow ethnographic researchers to follow lines of inquiry that may arise within conversations and accommodate “thick description.” The interviews will be audio/video recorded so that they can be accurately transcribed and shared within the research team for analysis post interview. Data analysis Quantitative and demographic items on the survey will be analysed using descriptive statistics to gain an overall picture of the participant sample. Phenomenological analysis of the qualitative data collected in the survey and semi-structured interviews will be conducted using emergent coding and theming (Mills & Morton, 2013) to develop greater understanding of the challenges, benefits and needs of those preservice teachers undertaking an early teaching contract.

Elements of the theory of practice architectures (Kemmis et al., 2014) are used to explore the candid responses from PSTs about: • how they balance classroom teaching with studying and home life or if there were any impacts; • how well-prepared PSTs felt embarking on their teaching career before graduating; • what factors enabled or constrained their success during their early teaching contract. The aim is to explore the broader conditions that may facilitate, interrupt, or prevent PSTs from experiencing optimum success in teaching on an early teaching contract while completing study in their ITE program. We aim to better understand those practices of teachers and schools that PSTs considered enabled or constrained their studying and teaching while on an early teaching contract. It is considered that when we understand the intricacies of practices, we can focus on transforming practices that enable success, and work towards adjusting those practices that constrain or pose as a barrier to PSTs successfully completing studying while on an early teaching contract. Preliminary findings will be discussed in terms of policy, research, and practice. With a virtual absence of research, findings from this research project will add to the knowledge base regarding how prepared preservice teachers are upon entering an early teaching contract prior to completing their university studies. Findings may inform policy and procedures of teacher registration boards and employers to successfully fulfil and negotiate positive ways to address the teacher shortage. ITE providers may be able to provide PSTs with evidence-based data to assist them to make informed decisions about a work/study balance whilst undertaking an early teaching contract. Findings may inform initial teacher education providers about potential ways to work with preservice teachers on an early teaching contract while maintaining high quality ITE and high-quality education for school students.

References Ary, D., Jacobs, L. & Sorensen, K. (2010). Introduction to research in education. Cengage. Australian Government Department of Education. (2022). Issues Paper: Teacher Workforce Shortages. https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/teacher-workforce-shortages-issues-paper Australian Government Department of Education. (2018). National School Reform Agreement. https://www.education.gov.au/quality-schools-package/resources/national-school-reform-agreement Hudson, S. & Hudson, P. (2019). “Please help me find teachers for my rural and remote school”: A model for teaching readiness. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 39(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i3.233 Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing practices, Changing Education. Singapore: Springer. Kline, J. & Walker-Gibbs, B. (2015). Graduate teacher preparation for rural schools in Victoria and Queensland. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(3), 68-88. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v40n3.5 Mills, D. & Morton, M. (2013). Ethnography in education. SAGE