Impacts of American Student Teachers on Twelve Community Members in a Rural New South Wales Community Australia: A Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influences of American student teachers on a rural community in New South Wales, Australia. The study analyzed interviews with twelve participants of the American student teacher program in A Rural New South Wales community, Australia. Two researchers worked together to complete this study. Both researchers were student teachers with the New South Wales community for ten weeks and taught Agriculture in one the community‟s two high schools. After allowing one year to pass, researcher one returned to the community to interview twelve individuals involved with the program. The interviewed participants were questioned based on a predetermined protocol. The interviews were then transcribed, coded, and categorized into themes by researcher two. Using participatory action research and a modified grounded theory approach, the researchers were able to identify areas of influence suggested by the participants. The participants identified nine areas of influence within the school and community of the American student teachers: cultural awareness, stereotypes, language, classroom distractions, teaching methods awareness, cultural changes in community members, student performance, community unification, and impact of student teacher presence.