Rural Voices Gather in the City

A prominent K-12 Queensland school principal and a number of leading academics will this week attend a conference at Deakin University’s Geelong Waterfront campus to discuss the future of rural education policy in Australia. Calen District State College and Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA) President, Mr Brian O’Neill, will be […]

City & Beyond

Written by Josh, Caitlin and Damien Boccamazzo, and Brent Kealy City & Beyond is a resource we created for rural students to help with the transition from high school to university. Rural students are at a significant disadvantage to their urban counterparts for primarily two reasons: Complete lack of information and resources, and Having no choice but […]

Advance Australia Fair

Written by Nathan Williams In 2011, I was offered a sponsored place to the Annual SPERA Conference in Adelaide. Now I’m back! I’d like to open the doors of my home to you and why the conference is so important to me. At the time, I was the first person in our family to attend […]

Notre Dame Pre-service Teachers contribute to the lives of the children in the Tjuntjuntjara Remote Community

Written by Glenda Cain, The University of Notre Dame Australia The Principal of the Tjuntjuntjara Remote Community School, Daniel Havelberg, has great praise for the ten The University of Notre Dame Australia pre-service teachers and staff who recently spent a week in the school and contributed significantly to the lives of the children. Tjuntjuntjara is located […]

2015 Conference Update

Written by Jodie Kline, Deakin University – SPERA 2015 Conference Director Mapping education policy landscapes: rurality and rural futures Jo-Anne Reid (Charles Sturt University), Gary Fry (Charles Darwin University – Centre for School Leadership), Marie Brennan (Victoria University), Sabina Knight (Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health) and Jim Watterson (Director General – Queensland […]

Update from the President – July 2015

A great deal has been happening with SPERA and I am happy to highlight these activities in the July edition of our newsletter. This year has heralded the introduction of our online journal – that is right, the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education (AIJRE) has gone online and our first edition was released on Wednesday 20 May 2015. […]

Encouraging Regional Aboriginal Students to Pursue Health Careers

Written by Bronwyn Ellis, University of South Australia A conference aimed at encouraging regional Aboriginal students to pursue careers in health, held at the University of South Australia’s Whyalla campus early this year, was timely: it came just after the release of the latest Closing the Gap report, which revealed only limited progress in areas related to […]

Student Teacher Draws on Scientific Experience to Lead Whale Shark Project

Written by Murdoch University and Dr Susan Ledger A Murdoch University education student is taking the lead on a whale shark tagging project which will see pupils from schools across WA follow the progress of several of the majestic fish. Dr Andrew Nield, who holds a PhD from Murdoch for a research project on the emu’s role in seed dispersal, […]

South Australian Rural Students Take to the Skies

Written by Bronwyn Ellis, University of South Australia A small independent school in Port Pirie offers an exciting program that attracts students from many other schools. The Mid-North Christian College, a non-denominational, co-educational, F-12 school of 260 students gives senior students the choice of Aviation Studies. The program is available to any student who has a desire to enter the […]

Allied Health Students get a Chance to Experience Research Projects in Regional City

Written by Bronwyn Ellis, University of South Australia Once again in the November to February period after examinations, a scholarship scheme run by the University of South Australia’s Department of Rural Health has enabled allied health students, mostly from the metropolitan area, to live and work in Whyalla for four or eight weeks. As well as giving […]