TY - JOUR
T1 - Applying behavioral insights to increase rural and remote internships: Results from two Randomized Controlled Trials
AU - Deetlefs, A. M. Jeanette
AU - Chalmers, Jenny
AU - Tindall, Karen
AU - Wiryakusuma-McLeod, Cindy
AU - Bennett, Sue
AU - Hay, Iain
AU - Humphries, Jacqueline
AU - Eady, Michelle J.
AU - Cronin, Lynette
AU - Rudd, Karl
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support for this research from the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and the NSW Department of Education. Special thanks to anonymous referees, Di Wasson and Cheryl Best from the NSW Department of Education and Alex King, Danielle Kent and Kim Louw from the NSW Government's Behavioural Insights Unit. The authors would also like to thank the staff of the Professional Experience office at each of the three universities, in particular Sue Heald, James O'Kelly, Petronella D'Souza, and Rachelle Tom.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Worldwide, organizations struggle to attract professionals in rural and remote (R&R) areas. Undertaking a placement in an R&R area as part of a program of study has been shown to increase the likelihood of graduates taking up positions in locations that are difficult to staff. We applied behavioral insights to develop low cost, scalable interventions to encourage pre-service teachers to undertake internships in R&R areas of Australia. We tested the effectiveness of removing behavioral barriers when researching R&R areas and adding social triggers to make the R&R opportunity relevant. Our first randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested the use of personalized communication from an influential messenger to highlight the benefits of an R&R internship. Our second RCT tested the offer of social support by allowing pre-service teachers to complete the R&R internship with a “buddy”, rather than alone. Our behavioral approaches trebled R&R internship applications in RCT 1. These findings provide insights for cost-effectively increasing R&R internships in teaching, healthcare or social work.
AB - Worldwide, organizations struggle to attract professionals in rural and remote (R&R) areas. Undertaking a placement in an R&R area as part of a program of study has been shown to increase the likelihood of graduates taking up positions in locations that are difficult to staff. We applied behavioral insights to develop low cost, scalable interventions to encourage pre-service teachers to undertake internships in R&R areas of Australia. We tested the effectiveness of removing behavioral barriers when researching R&R areas and adding social triggers to make the R&R opportunity relevant. Our first randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested the use of personalized communication from an influential messenger to highlight the benefits of an R&R internship. Our second RCT tested the offer of social support by allowing pre-service teachers to complete the R&R internship with a “buddy”, rather than alone. Our behavioral approaches trebled R&R internship applications in RCT 1. These findings provide insights for cost-effectively increasing R&R internships in teaching, healthcare or social work.
KW - Randomized controlled trial
KW - Nudges
KW - Professional experience
KW - Internships
KW - Rural and remote
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102238062&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socec.2021.101664
DO - 10.1016/j.socec.2021.101664
M3 - Article
SN - 2214-8043
VL - 92
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics
JF - Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics
M1 - 101664
ER -