This paper reports on the views of key members of the educational community about student engagement and retention in rural, regional and disadvantaged areas of the Australian state of Tasmania. It provides insights into the attributed reasons for the longstanding low levels of student retention in Tasmania, and the possible ways to militate…

School completion to the end of Year 12 in rural, regional, and disadvantaged communities is an acknowledged challenge in Australia and internationally. This research reports the beliefs of 86 rural and regional community leaders in the Australian state of Tasmania. A survey on issues associated with students' school completion was designed…

Based on a sample of over 3000 primary and secondary school students located in regional and rural schools in Tasmania (Australia) this research had three aims: (1) to identify students' self-perceptions of schooling with a focus on high school completion (referred to as school retention); (2) to determine if gender, socio-economic factors, level…

This paper reports pilot data from an instrument devised as part of a large ARC funded project that aims, among other things, to investigate factors that influence the decisions of students in rural and/or disadvantaged areas to continue their schooling beyond Year 10. One section of the pilot student questionnaire comprised 42 items designed to…

This article reports on an exploratory study which employed Hodgkinson's values paradigm as an analytical tool for explaining how administrators of transnational education programmes understand national cultural values to affect their work and working environment. In particular, interviews with managers responsible for Australia's provision of…

This article reports on an exploratory study that examined the effect of national culture upon the management of Australia's provision of transnational higher education in Thailand. In particular, using Hofstede's national cultural value dimensions as an analytical tool, interviews with managers responsible for Australia's provision of…

A case study of Queensland, Australia, elementary principals found their jobs significantly affected by school-based management. Principals are expected to lead their communities through the change process and facilitate cultural change while responding to greater accountability demands from the system. Managerialism has eclipsed educational…