Questionnaires completed by Australian preservice teachers before and after practical experiences in isolated rural settings revealed the value of these experiences in developing positive attitudes toward teaching in rural schools and in sensitizing teachers to the culture and conditions associated with teaching in rural areas. (LP)

Discusses the impact on rural Australian schools of recent developments in distance education, including new communication technologies, changes in the concept of Distance Education Centres, the advent of open learning ("open" college courses delivered electronically by a consortium of universities), and interinstitutional networking.…

A rural health care staff development unit in New South Wales (Australia) switched from face-to-face teaching to a model encompassing competency-based training, recognition of prior learning, portfolio assessment, and flexible delivery using telecommunications technologies. Recommendations for ongoing implementation and marketing of…

Learning for sustainability has the potential to play a significant role in enhancing social ecological resilience--as individuals and institutions develop the capacity to adaptively manage the environment. This article outlines an audience and learning needs analysis of irrigators in Western Australia's East Wanneroo area. Interviews were…

A 1985 mail survey of 97 rural schools and 53 coastal (urban/suburban) schools in Queensland, Australia, investigated teacher characteristics, problems, and needs. Respondents included 504 rural teachers, 215 rural parents, 405 coastal teachers, and 179 coastal parents. The results confirm many previous findings about teaching in rural Australia.…

The reports of two innovative approaches to overcoming education problems in the isolated, sparsely populated areas of Western Australia are presented. Established in 1974, the Isolated Students Matriculation Scheme has combined traditional forms of correspondence education with a curriculum development unit and the development of mechanisms to…

This paper is intended to furnish the necessary context and background information for an understanding of the role and functions of the Queensland, Australia Pre-School Correspondence Program. This educational service, the first of its kind in Australia, occurred within the context of a policy to provide one year of free preschool education for…

This proceedings of the 17th annual conference of the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA) contains 28 keynote addresses and conference papers. Major conference themes were vocational education and training (VET) in rural schools, small schools, flexible rural delivery systems, and the community as a resource and…

This paper discusses the work of Yooroang Garang: the Centre for Indigenous Health Studies at the University of Sydney (Australia), focusing on professional education of Aboriginal health workers (AHWs). Aboriginal Education Centres in tertiary institutions are challenged to ensure that those institutions impart knowledge that is relevant and…

In regional, rural, and remote areas of Australia, geographic and professional isolation take their toll on professionals, particularly in the first 5 years of practice. The attraction and retention of human service professionals and paraprofessionals in regional Australia is a significant problem affecting the sustainability and social cohesion…

A seminar on menopausal health was presented to a live audience and remote audiences at 10 sites in rural Queensland (Australia) via videoconferencing. Questionnaires completed by 128 audience members indicated positive reception of the content and delivery method. Similar replies from live and remote audience members indicated that the…

Discusses semantic complexities rampant in attempts to define rurality. Examines environmental and economic aspects of rurality and impacts on education. Proposes a definition of rurality based on five human considerations: approximate geographic divisions, level of access to community services, industry type, population makeup, and the…

Argues that the rural development policy for Australia proposed by Jonathan and Katrina Sher in a previous issue of this journal is inadequate because the analysis on which it is based is generally unsubstantiated, supportive arguments have been found invalid, the richness of Australian society is overlooked, and economic arguments are flawed.…

Summarizes outcomes of the 1994 international conference, "Issues Affecting Rural Communities," held in Townsville, Australia. The aim of the conference was to identify major issues in health, education, and community development, and to explore possibilities of applying international and interdisciplinary perspectives to the remediation…

Distance education can improve rural education by alleviating geographic isolation of small rural schools and increasing educational opportunities for both students and teachers. In Australia, distance education technologies include telecourses for staff development and an electronic mail and bulletin board system linking schools. (LP)