Background: Time insufficiency is frequently cited as a reason for poor dietary habits. This does not adequately explain the variations in how time is perceived as a factor in healthy eating. Aims: This study placed the eating behaviors of rural Australian women within the contexts of their stories to understand the factors that influenced healthy…

In Australia, access to music education is inequitable due to the challenges of distance, different state education systems and a lack of resources in schools. As a means to address this social justice issue, we explore here the viability and effects of a digitally based music outreach programme undertaken in collaboration with Hands on Learning…

This article outlines the rationale for, and development of an online support system (OSS) for teachers of mathematics in regional, rural and remote (RRR) Australia as part of an ongoing longitudinal project, "Regional Teachers of Mathematics Networks" (RTMN). The OSS is designed to assist development of interconnected collaborative…

This article draws on work with communities in the rural and remote towns of Brewarrina, Wilcannia and Enngonia, New South Wales (NSW) to explore the relationship between low adult literacy levels and the continuing alienation of Aboriginal communities from educational decision making. Building on the analysis of community-school relations…

Teaching in rural/remote regions poses many challenges to teachers and is identified as a priority research area by the state government. Despite initiatives by the Queensland state government and university providers to solve the issue through various incentives designed to attract teachers, the problem remains significant. This research…

Studies in north-western Australia Aboriginal communities identified executive functioning and behavioural regulation as significant issues for children. Exposure to alcohol prenatally and adverse childhood experiences are known risk factors for impaired self-regulation and executive function, these risk factors being present in remote…

This paper reports on findings from four case studies, as part of a large-scale study undertaken to evaluate the KindiLink initiative across Western Australia in remote, regional and metropolitan communities. KindiLink is an educator-led playgroup initiative in public school sites in Western Australia targeted at Aboriginal children and their…

This article outlines the learning design, implementation and shared outcomes of an intensive placed-based design education programme that was delivered in a specific remote high school learning context in the Warmun Aboriginal community, East Kimberley, Western Australia. Place-based design education seeks to assist vulnerable young people in…

A broad range of initiatives including early intervention programmes have been implemented in Australia to assist disadvantaged and at-risk Indigenous parents and children. This qualitative exemplar case study details the perspectives of caregivers and service providers of one such early learning intervention programme situated within the remote…

Meritocratic ideals, which emphasise individual responsibility and self-motivation, have featured prominently in discourses about Australia's international competitiveness in academic achievement. Young people are often encouraged to attribute academic success and failure to individual factors such as hard work and talent, and to downplay…

This paper reports on a work-integrated learning (WIL) internship program: a partnership between the Australian University of New England (UNE) and the New South Wales (NSW) Parliamentary Internship Program (PiP). In particular, it examines and proposes a tailored partnership or cooperative learning approach between university and industry with…

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…

The University of Sydney has a long-standing record of commitment to social inclusion in tertiary education. The Australian government agenda has brought into sharp focus the importance of universities engaging with rural and remote communities. The University of Sydney provides placement opportunities and pathways to attract more undergraduate…

Supporting children in their early development and learning has long-term benefits for both them and the broader community. Yet in Australia we still have significant examples of inequality of opportunity (Allan, 2010) and other structural barriers to family wellbeing, particularly in Indigenous and rural and remote communities (Bourke, Humphreys,…

The "Early Years Learning Framework for Australia" emphasises that children's own identity is constructed within their given context of family and community. This article presents the findings of a multiple case study project undertaken within five remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia. Community Elders were…