Focusing on two isolated rural communities in South Australia which have experienced a sense of isolation for a long time (The South-East and Eyre Peninsula), the paper presents an examination of the pattern of educational needs and interest of residents in isolated rural communities, and their relation to the changing social and educational background. A discussion of the history of the setting, given as background information to current developments, covers the areas' settlement pattern, distance from Adelaide (the capital), and the residents' sense of isolation. Emphasizing rural education, the paper discusses such aspects as the inequality of opportunity for rural children; early school leaving in rural communities; the education of rural parents; the effect of rising educational standards on rural communities; educational and occupational experiences; membership of organisations; shared interests between wives and husbands; adult education activities; reading, radio, and television behaviour; library facilities and their use; the nature and frequency of visits of the residents to the capital; quality of education; teacher mobility; Commonwealth scholarships; retention rates; and political activities. A discussion of the implications of the variations in the education, attitudes, aspirations, and activities of country people for rural society as a whole concludes the paper. (NQA)