The impetus for the study reported in this paper was Queensland's poor performance on 2008's NAPLAN testing, the Queensland Education Performance Review (Department of Education and Training, [DET]2009b) that followed and the subsequent adoption of pre-registration tests for aspiring Primary and Early Childhood teachers (Queensland College of…

In June 2008, 10 pre-service teachers and 2 teacher educators from Edith Cowan University (ECU) participated in an existing community education program in rural and remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. From an intrepid start with a mountain of overloaded baggage and camping cutlery setting off the scanning machine at the airport,…

In this article, the author offers his responses to the commentaries made by Arlie Woodrum (2009), Susan Faircloth (2009), David Greenwood (2009), and Ursula Kelly (2009) on his book "Learning to Leave," as well as his article, "Rural Schooling in Mobile Modernity: Returning to the Places I've Been." Each of the commentators…

In order to sustain the rural education community, access to high quality professional development opportunities must become a priority. Teachers in rural areas face many challenges in order to access professional learning equitable to their city counterparts. In the current climate, the Federal government of Australia is committed to initiatives…

Relationship building in the remote rural settings studied occurred at various levels: professional, school-based, personal, and community-wide. Principals and teachers who understand the importance of relationship building--especially its personal and community-wide facets--who take the initiative in establishing and nurturing relationships and…

In order to improve recruitment of teachers to rural schools, preservice teachers need opportunities to become familiar with rural education contexts, overcome anxieties promoted by negative stereotypes and build confidence in their professional and personal abilities. Traditional approaches involve rural practicums which are not feasible for many…

It is interesting to reflect upon past conversations and to explore their implications for current practice. That is the point of the current paper, which looks back at our progress towards adopting a rural lens to drive policy--to develop initiatives for rural education based upon rural needs, rather than apparent metro-centric political decision…

One of the common characteristics of rural communities globally, and especially those in the developed countries of the world, is the exodus of youth in search of "greener pastures." While this exodus of youth has been happening for centuries and has often been spurred along by fundamental changes in the way societies organise…

The complex interconnection among issues affecting rural-regional sustainability requires an equally complex program of research to ensure the attraction and retention of high-quality teachers for rural children. The educational effects of the construction of the rural within a deficit discourse are highlighted. A concept of rural social space is…

This paper investigates regional Australian students' aspirations and expectations for their future and, more specifically, the manner in which these are formulated around a view to move outward--that is, away from regional, remote and rural communities--and onward--that is, to make something of their lives. Drawing upon interview data, the paper…

This paper examines the Australian government's Indigenous policy by interrogating the concept of partnership between governments and Indigenous communities through three examples. Increasingly, the Australian federal government is focusing attention on the poor literacy and numeracy outcomes for Indigenous children in remote and very 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…

This article analyses the status and future of bilingual education programs using Indigenous languages and English in remote Northern Territory schools. It explains why this educational approach is so contested at present, resulting in an unresolved situation which can best be regarded as an uneasy compromise on the ground and a stalemate at…

Connecting with other education professionals is important in supporting teacher learning. Teachers in remote locations in Australia experience a professional isolation due to geographic isolation that makes it difficult to engage in sustained collaborations with other teachers. In a national project ICT was used to assist these teachers by…