Motivations and experiences of teachers in a Northern Manitoba community

Abstract

This paper utilizes an exploratory case study method to examine the factors that attract and motivate teachers to stay in a remote, northern Canadian community. Bakan's (1966) framework of agency and communion, provides a lens for exploring and understanding teachers' experiences of working in the north where the term "the North" is understood not simply as one of two geographical poles, but also represents a consciousness of place. Subsequently, this study expands the conceptualization of Bakan's notion of communion to include both the effects of emotion, which can be understood specifically as public, social, and in relation to others; as well as socio-spatial factors that illustrate the ways in which space is conceived, perceived and lived. Given the amount of human and financial capital required to recruit and retain teachers, as well as the negative implications that high levels of teacher attrition have on student success and emotional well-being, it is important to understand teachers' perspectives on their experiences working in communities that are perceived as hard to staff.