ERIC Number: EJ1061512
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1839-7387
EISSN: N/A
Thinking about First Year Retention in Teacher Higher Education: Three Students in a Regional University and Their Metaphors of Survival
Henderson, Robyn; Noble, Karen
Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, v23 n2 p65-75 2013
In Australian faculties of education, retention and progression issues are paramount within the current neo-liberal climate which emphasises student degree completions. This is particularly the case in regional universities, where many students--often the first in their families to attend university--are from rural, regional and low socio-economic communities. This paper draws on data generated during a project that provided support for first year teacher education students in a regional university. Using critical discourse analysis, it describes and analyses the metaphors used by a small group of pre-service teachers as they talked in interviews about their transition into university and the strategies they used to "survive" their first attempts at study in a tertiary institution. The metaphors provide insights into the pre-service teachers' perceived need for social support alongside traditionally-offered academic support. The data suggest that a rethinking of support offerings might be necessary to ensure that teacher education caters for pre-service teachers who feel dislocated from their home and community roots.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Regional Schools, Preservice Teacher Education, Discourse Analysis, Interviews, Preservice Teachers, Student Teacher Attitudes, Student Adjustment, Coping, Figurative Language, Educational Environment, Student Experience, Social Support Groups, Social Environment, Context Effect, Student Characteristics
Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia. P.O. Box 659, Wembly, Western Australia 6913. Tel: +08-9285-0626; e-mail: admin@spera.asn.au; Web site: http://www.spera.asn.au/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A