teacher in rural area

Teachers in Rural Schools

One major problem with rural schools is the lack of quality teachers. Two essential variables with teachers and rural schools are distance from a college with a teaching program, and distance from an urban area. Many teachers do not want to stay in rural areas because of isolation, whether it is social, professional, or cultural. In addition, teachers in rural areas face many challenges such as low salaries, lack of access to professional opportunities, and the responsibility to take on multiple duties (Castle, 1995). Due to the small size of rural schools and communities, there is a smaller pool of applicants and teachers in rural areas, and rural schools have a high teacher turnover rate (DeYoung, 1991). Most teachers and administrators in rural schools are typically younger, less well education, and get lower pay and benefits than non rural employees (UNESCO, 1990).
The problem with rural teachers can be broken down further into recruiting and retaining these teachers. In regards to recruitment of rural school teachers, the "ideal" rural teacher can teach multiple grades or subjects, organize extracurricular activities, and adjust well to the environment and the community (Brown, 2003). It is extremely difficult to find teachers who fit in with the rural community and will stay for a long period of time because of this. Usually the teachers who end up staying are either from a rural background or have previous experience with rural communities. So, they felt that they had ever been in this situation and need someone to help the people in that area, to develop their in knowledge. Small rural schools have struggled to find an adequate supply of teachers, but now their struggle is to find quality teachers which is difficult because rural teachers are supposed to show excellence, but what they really need first is equality (DeYoung, 1991).