Learning at a distance: recognising remote tutoring as a career

• Published in: Distance education Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 315 - 333
• Main Authors: McLennan, Brad, L. Peel, Karen, Danaher, Patrick A., Burnett, Elizabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne Routledge 02-04-2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Australia; Career development; Career paths; career pathways; Distance Education; distance schooling; Geographic isolation; geographically isolated learners; Interviews; Primary secondary education; Remote Education Tutors; Remote Education Tutors (RETs); rural and remote locations; Semi Structured Interviews; Success; System theory; Systems Approach; Tutoring; Australia
• ISSN: 0158-7919; 1475-0198
• DOI: 10.1080/01587919.2024.2338718

Remote Education Tutors (RETs) enact crucial roles in Australian distance schooling, by living with families who reside in geographically isolated locations and supporting their school age children's learning. As part of a larger research project, this paper presents a study of four RETs derived from semi-structured interviews conducted in their respective home schoolrooms. Informed conceptually by Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological systems theory (1979, 1986), the thematic analysis generated four substantive themes related to the participants' lives and work: pedagogical competencies; healthy relational dynamics; optimism with a solution focus; and substantive occupation. More broadly, the RETs contribute indispensably to the educational success and the lifestyle sustainability of the school age children with whom they work, yet currently there is no formal recognition of that contribution, just as there is no viable career pathway for RETs seeking to become qualified teachers. Accordingly, they are as occupationally invisible as the remote living families whom they serve.