Attracting and retaining effective education leaders and teaching staff for regional, rural and remote schools in Australia is a major sustainability and quality issue facing every State and Territory. It is also a major concern in pre-service teacher education, particularly for those universities which have a commitment to rural and regional…

Debunks common myths about rurality and rural Australia. Calls for a change in perspective, putting person and place at the center of learning. Local involvement is key to the proposed Centre for Rural Communities, which would promote community sustainability through networking and training. Describes the Rural Women's Programme in Victoria and a…

At Annenberg Rural Challenge sites, people in small U.S. communities have gathered their resources and organized their schools so as to reclaim rural places and traditions facing economic or political eradication. Educational innovations and practices at various sites are described, and their application to urban settings is discussed. Includes 10…

Australian rural communities often suffer from psychological isolation in addition to geographic isolation. Human and social capital are powerful antidotes to psychological isolation and are closely dependent on learning. Rural schools can reverse the negative effects of isolation on educational outcomes if they first work on building human and…

In rural Australia, secondary education is often unavailable after year 10, and students are less likely to pursue tertiary education than urban counterparts. Student and family interviews suggest that career decisions are made primarily with advice from family, peers, and media, not school personnel. Reasons may be related to feelings that…

Addresses Australia's changing economic structure and the increasingly important role of adult education in rural economic development. Adult programs that positively impact rural development include training for employment, small business training, enterprise education, community awareness programs aimed at promoting understanding of how money…