Addressing the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Dilemma in Rural Settings

Abstract

This chapter addresses how an elementary education program at a large university prepares teacher candidates for success working with children and families in rural poverty through a structured, linked, K-2 language arts practicum experience that provides pedagogical training in planning, instruction, and assessment. This descriptive chapter includes a thorough account of program development and employed strategies with example tools and resources to provide the reader with contextual understanding of the methods the authors use to prepare teacher candidates for success. The described structure of the program is centered on the development and sustainable nature of the university and school partnerships, designed to provide teacher candidates with meaningful opportunities for intentional application of theory in real-world, rural settings to address the teacher recruitment and retention dilemma in the state's most economically disadvantaged rural communities, while improving the quality of life for citizens in this region of the country.