“Growing Our Own Teachers”: Rural Individuals Becoming Certified Teachers

Attracting and retaining teachers for rural and remote areas are pervasive global problems, and Canada is not immune to these issues. As recommended by the Northern Alberta Development Report (2010), communities need to make an increased priority of local teacher recruitment, by “growing our own teachers” (p. 11). One way to do just that is to allow students to stay in their communities for preservice teacher education, thereby increasing access to potentially qualified individuals who might not otherwise be reached. In light of this provincial directive, this paper will examine the provision of blended preservice teacher education by examining student and instructor perspectives in one community-based program. While the emphasis of the study highlighted how alternative provisions of teacher education programs may better support students who live in rural regions, the results gave rise to the ways in which shifts in our delivery of programs may alter notions of relationality and at an institutional level, the evolving nature of the university itself.