Teacher job satisfaction and retention in small rural schools: A theory of recognition approach

• In the article findings from a project examining factors for teacher job satisfaction and retention in rural schools in Australia are presented. • Using Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition, this article provides evidence of the impact of small schools on teachers’ job satisfaction and their decision to stay working and living in a rural area. • The analysis reveals that teachers’ job satisfaction is anchored in interpersonal practices of positive recognition with students and colleagues, which supports individuals’ sense of self and teachers’ decision to stay in rural schools. • The structure and organisation of small schools provides a space for robust intersubjectivity and the construction of rural teachers’ professional identity. Small rural schools have been the focus of intensive research in Australia and internationally over the past few decades. The foci often have been on school closure/amalgamation, school leadership, curriculum and pedagogy, and school-community relationships. A less trodden research path has been the connection between small schools and rural teaching retention. This is surprising given that staffing has been a perennial challenge for rural schools. Using a theory of recognition approach, this article provides evidence of the impact of small schools on teachers’ job satisfaction and their decision to stay working and living in a rural area. A theory of recognition offers a normative grammar that enhances the analysis of social relations that underpin teachers’ decision to stay rural. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with rural teachers, the analysis reveals that teachers’ job satisfaction is anchored in interpersonal practices of recognition that support individuals’ sense of self and decision to stay. It shows that the structure and organisation of small schools provides a space for robust intersubjectivity and the construction of rural teachers’ professional identity.