Forging the way forward: attracting professionals to regional areas through strategic partnership

Teacher retention issues have been highlighted and there is also a growing shortage of teachers attracted to rural and regional areas. Current cohorts of teacher education students appear reluctant to undergo a regional professional experience because of personal and professional factors that impinge on their involvement in a potentially exciting area of future employment. The Whyalla region in South Australia is undergoing a period of economic growth and the region offers an exciting future for teaching graduates to work and live in a growing environ. This paper will discuss a project which was developed in collaborative partnership with the University of South Australia and local stakeholders which aimed to address this issue by designing and delivering a pilot study with a cohort of graduate entry pre-service teachers. We will demonstrate how a collaborative program focussed on practice-based teaching and learning and wellbeing management, was able to benefit both the local community and preservice teachers.