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Rural education issues: An Australian perspective
Colin Boylan
Keywords
rural education
Article Text
The Centre for Rural Social Research and the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA) have combined to produce this book on Australian rural education issues. Drawing upon research, policy analysis and innovations in rural education, it represents a significant contribution to the literature. Not since the publication of the Schooling Rural Australia in 1988 has there been a publication that highlights the imaginative solutions to educational provision in rural Australia in the manner that this publication does.
The Centre for Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University has a tradition and history of scholarship in rural welfare and rural sociological matters extending over the past five years. The Centre has established the Key Paper series as its flagship. The series represents the collective wisdom gained through research into current rural issues. This third volume focuses on the vital role that education has in all rural communities - from the pre-school through to continuing adult education - and on how the provision of education in these communities reflects the resourcefulness of rural people.
The Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia has existed for ten years. This organisation has served as a national advocate for rural education and training provision and as an organising body in the dissemination of innovative programs, actions and policies in rural education. Each year, SPERA conducts a national conference on rural education issues which attracts delegates from all Australian states and territories. The experience and expertise of SPERA in its role as a policy maker and advisor organisation ensure its contribution to the selection of articles to be included in the Key Paper series will address topical issues in the provision of education rural Australia.
Key Papers Number 3 represents a collection of research on rural education by Australians for Australian conditions. In that sense, this monograph is both timely and unique. It highlights the sheer determination of rural communities, the innovative ways in which educational provision occurs as well as raising some of the issues that face parents, teachers, students and communities as they strive for both equality and equity in their access to education.
The book is organised into three sections:
- Contemporary issues
- Target Groups
- Technology
In the first section, Contemporary Issues, the editors Colin Boylan and Margaret Alston, have carefully selected a representative range of contributions covering:
- provision of education for remote rural communities including Aboriginal people and women
- increasing access to vocational education and training for students in the post-compulsory years of education
- effects of recent structural and organisational changes on teachers in rural locations
- the ways in which the delivery of education and training in rural Victoria can be achieved
- through existing and innovative methods
- student access to financial assistance for their post-secondary studies and some of the inequities experienced by rural students
- the impact of the technology on the concepts of isolation, remoteness and disadvantage
- the nature of continuing education for agricultural producers in changing economic times.
Section 2 deals with Target Groups. A target group is a group of people who share some common concern regarding their access to the provision of education. This section focuses on:
- teacher turnover and strategies for retaining reveal teachers
- access to post-compulsory educational offerings for isolated rural women
- teachers working and living in a culturally different climate
- provision of educational services for the disabled are examined
- the needs of non-English speaking people living in a rural location.
Section 3 examines the real and projected impact of some of the newer forms of Technology on educational provision in rural Australia. The use of audio graphic telecommunications as one way of providing a comprehensive and full secondary education for students in rural areas of Australia is described. Additionally, an innovative computer based form of educational delivery for children of itinerant workers is described in this section.
Collectively, the work reported in this collection is a celebration of the uniquely Australian solutions for providing equitable educational provision for rural Australians. It highlights the innovative and imaginative methods used and the commitment by rural communities and governments to ensuring a quality education is accessible to all - irrespective of where you live.
This book will be valuable to policymakers and advisors on rural education provision as well as to researchers within Australia who wish to quickly find out what has been achieved. Finally, students in teacher education courses will find it both instructive and an excellent resource for their studies.
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