The majority of the still limited literature on education in non-metropolitan areas adopts an understanding of rurality as a fixed and known geographic entity. This paper departs from such a functionalist perspective to explore how rurality is constructed in a programme for at-risk teenagers in remote Australia. Drawing on a range of texts about…

For more than a decade, it has become more of a challenge to both attract and retain quality pre-service teachers to both rural and remote locations within Australia. Many pre-service teachers are reluctant to leave a preferred metropolitan location to undertake a rural or remote professional experience and often have negative views concerning…

This ALTC project is a collaborative endeavour between the four public universities involved in teacher education in Western Australia (Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia), focussed on improving the quality of preparation of pre-service teachers for rural, regional and remote…

This article is essentially written as two linked parts. The first part considers how space, spatiality and history can contribute to understanding and "doing something about" the sustainability of rural communities. This is done by extensive reference to Soja's (1989 & 1996) space and spatial theorising and selective perspectives of…

The tree change phenomenon started around Australia from about 2003 and continues to this day, even into places like the Western Plains area of New South Wales. Relocating from the city to rural areas for a lifestyle change is attributed to this phenomenon. An ever-growing interest in post-compulsory education solutions that run parallel to this…

Education authorities continue to experience difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers in rural and remote schools. In Western Australia (WA), a state noted for its vastness and number of schools located in rural and remote settings, a scheme developed by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training (DET) and the WA Chamber of…

At the Western Institute of Technical and Further Education (WITAFE) in New South Wales (NSW), vocational education and training (VET) courses are being delivered to students in isolated homesteads and remote Aboriginal communities by Interactive Distance eLearning (IDL). IDL provides satellite-supported two-way broadband voice, one-way video and…

Nominees for the 1997 Australia Rural Education Award included a program that allowed rural students to follow a young man sailing around the world; a music, dance, and drama competition for rural students; a music camp; a bandicoot conservation project; an agricultural education program; and student documentation of the history of a local rural…

Constant change necessitates lifelong learning for those in the workforce, if they are not to fall behind in the skills and knowledge needed as their occupations evolve. Learning new skills and knowledge remains a part of life for those no longer in paid employment. Not only is learning essential in order to keep up with changing needs and…

Ag-Ed is an agricultural education project aimed at upper primary students, held in conjunction with the Toowoomba Show (similar to a county fair) in Queensland, Australia. The program achieves its purpose of helping children understand the impact and relevance that agriculture has on their everyday lives through two components, an Ag-Ed day and a…

Profiles and contact information for 14 candidate programs for the 1999 Australian Rural Education Award. Programs feature tree planting, transportation to boarding school, community development, business awareness, early childhood services, GIS technology, community-based curriculum development, reading resources, environmental service learning,…

Interviews, questionnaires, school visits, and examination of project films and documents supplied information for an interim evaluation of the effectiveness of the Roctapus (Really Outstanding Color Television About Practically Unlimited Subjects) program. A closed-circuit television series following a magazine format, Roctapus is distributed to…

Interviews, program documents, progress reports supplied by the secondary itinerant teacher, and results of a questionnaire survey conducted by the itinerant teacher provided information for a brief, interim evaluation of the Secondary Itinerant Teacher Service. The service has endeavored to help all students (including adults) enrolled with the…

The itinerant secondary remedial resource teacher service, designed to identify and help isolated country students in Queensland who are experiencing learning difficulties and to assist teachers in classrooms, program development, and resource strategy for exceptional learners, was evaluated seven months after project initiation in 1979. Data for…

Australian society in the 1990s has been marked by the gradual disenfranchisement of rural communities due to the urban bias of political and economic decision-makers. In Victoria, curriculum changes based on strategic centralism, consumer capture, and educational accountability were accompanied by a more controlled, urban-biased approach to…