Entries by Darryl Butler

HarvestEd Student Agricultural program

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HarvestEd is a partnership between the Department of Education, Queensland Virtual STEM Academy and Asia Education Foundation to enhance the opportunity for rural and remote students to engage with the agricultural industry.

The partnership brings together a cluster of schools with agricultural industry professionals in their local communities and around Australia with links to the Asia region. Despite the vast distances, the partnership acknowledges the importance of connecting students into a community of praxis so they can engage, collaborate and innovate.

Since 2021, 71 junior secondary students from Central Queensland, Wide Bay and Darling Downs have worked together to identify […]

Skilling the Pilbara

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In collaboration with Rio Tinto and university partners, the PUC has developed a tailored portfolio of higher education courses, delivered in a supported mixed mode to local Pilbara industry employees. The program currently supports 30 employees and includes two industry specific Graduate Certificate courses and a Diploma of Engineering Infrastructure (Rail). In October 2022, this program is expanding with a Cert IV in Leadership and Mentoring course being piloted with 20 Indigenous Rio Tinto employees. For the students undertaking these courses, there are two fundamental components to the study model; one is that the courses are closely aligned with their […]

Menindee Central School & Uni Newcastle

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Menindee Central School and the University of Newcastle School of Education have maintained a partnership dedicated to improving student outcomes at the school since 2005. Over the years, the school and community have received substantial media coverage of the many successes achieved along the way (awards and significant achievements have become common in several aspects of RRR life – sports, the arts, etc.)

With the challenge of moving further beyond past successes, the school has initiated a stronger link with the University in:

  1. offering professional development pathways for school staff and allied agencies,
  2. increasing the lived experience […]

Edith Cowan & Greenbushes Primary School

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Greenbushes Primary School is a picturesque small rural school catering to students from Kindergarten to Year 6; however, in 2019, it was at risk of closing due to small numbers. Knowing that lost classrooms equal lost communities, the local industry, school and community developed a Partnership Agreement. This partnership enabled the achievement of common goals to benefit the students, teachers, and the wider community, including contributing to a positive legacy for the future.

Greenbushes Primary School is regularly provided with funds, equipment and in-kind industry and community expertise in a range of authentic contexts, including but not limited to; […]

Quality Teaching Rounds Digital/ Teachers and Teaching Research Centre

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Too often teachers in rural and remote areas miss out on opportunities for high-impact professional development. QTR Digital provides such access for teachers regardless of school size and distance from larger centres. Rigorous research has shown participation in face-to-face Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) enhances the quality of teaching, teacher morale and student achievement. Adapted specifically for teachers in regional, remote and small schools, QTR Digital makes innovative use of video and other technologies to engage teachers in the same robust processes to collaboratively analyse and refine their teaching practice.

Our 2021 randomised controlled trial of QTR Digital involved 127 NSW […]

Geraldton Universities Centre

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Geraldton Universities Centre (GUC) is the original regional university centre (RUC). Commencing operations in 2002, GUC restructured in 2010 to a community-based model of governance committed to meeting the needs of the community. Providing opportunity for all and recruiting students to courses that would address local workforce need, GUC pioneered an innovative model of supplying face-to-face, course specific academic support to these cohorts of local students enrolled in partner university’s online courses. GUC’s sourced tutors local industry – current professionals to foster the growth and development of future professionals for the Geraldton community to thrive.

This support for students […]

Discover Your Future

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CUC Far West worked collaboratively with local youth to facilitate an interactive networking event, ‘Discover Your Future’ (DYF) in May 2022. Preceding the development of DYF, CUC Far West staff attended the ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Summit in 2021, where local youth presented a concept to increase youth access and exposure to local industries and to nurture the aspirations of young people. The group advocated for a platform to connect with a diverse range of professionals to share their experiences navigating careers and education pathways.

DYF was delivered over a single day; approximately 150 students from years 10-12 engaged with […]

Rural and Remote team

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The Rural and remote team in the Queensland Department of Education has centred their work over the past four years on ensuring that every rural and remote student, regardless of their geographic location, has the opportunity to succeed. The team is led by a Director with 6 dedicated officers who support over 600 rural and remote state schools. They have placed these schools at the centre of their work.

Since the release of the Queensland rural and remote strategy in October 2018, the rural and remote team has advocated for rural and remote state schools and their communities and ensured […]

Speaking in Colour

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Speaking in Colour was established in 2010 by Cherie Johnson. During her time as a casual/temp teacher Cherie saw the need for Aboriginal education resources written by experienced Aboriginal educators. Starting with Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regional art galleries Cherie wrote educational resources supporting the exhibitions and the gallery staff.

Today, Speaking in Colour is a collective of likeminded educators and professionals, with the mission to make a difference in the delivery of Aboriginal education, to the corporate, business and education sectors. Our training and experiences provided are fun, affordable and in the spirit of reconciliation.

During the COVID 19 […]

First Nations Education

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CQUniversity is proud to be recognised as Australia’s most inclusive and engaged university with some of the highest ratios of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The University aims to improve higher education outcomes for Indigenous Australians by providing higher education, training, research opportunities and engagement that expresses a deliberate destiny for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In the past 12 months, CQUniversity has delivered a series of sector-leading programs that have increased the access, participation and success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in vocational and higher education.

Through its Indigenous Student Engagement Framework, CQUniversity provides support […]

Social Enterprise Schools

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Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE) is a not-for-profit social enterprise that exists to build a thriving rural Australia that is agile, resilient and enterprising. ACRE’s flagship youth entrepreneurship program, Social Enterprise Schools is a practical, student-led experience that develops citizenship and enterprise capabilities while building resilience in young people across regional, rural and remote Australia.

Through the process of setting up their own social enterprise, it effectively re-engages young people with learning, bringing students, teachers, local entrepreneurs and community together to develop skills, build confidence and make a positive social impact. Students harness their talents and interests while developing […]

Learning Skills Advisor Program

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Since 2018 the Country Universities Centre Far West (CUCFW) has supported over 200 students with free academic skills support through the Learning Skills Advisor (LSA) program. The LSA program aims to positively impact student success through personalised, flexible, face-to-face support that builds academic capabilities and confidence. Further, in recognition of the isolation and disconnection many online students feel, the LSA program takes active steps to build a sense of belonging at university, and introduce and connect students to additional support services and resources available in community and from their university. In addition, practices have been established to reduce barriers for […]

Learning to Learn – enabling regional students to succeed in higher education

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Learn2Learn is an evidence based, innovative online program with modules released weekly, over 6 weeks. It can be run as a pre-orientation program (perfect for students in regional areas who are unsure if study is for them), embedded into core curriculum or run between terms for struggling students.

Research to date indicates improved confidence, learner mindset, knowledge retention, proactive learner behaviours, mental well-being and higher grades.

The program was designed to empower online tertiary education students to discover their own learning needs and design a learning experience that suits them as an individual.

Learn2Learn uses brain based deep learning strategies […]

RESN Help, Live and Wiki

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The Regional Educational Support Network (RESN) is a not-for-profit organisation that empowers regional students to take control of their future through the provision of free high-quality resources and tutoring. The pandemic has highlighted that RESN’s fully online resources are strongly positioned to address the metropolitan/regional resource divide. Our services include an online platform for students to ask questions to tutors (RESN Help), banks of quizzes and sample answers (RESN Quizzes and Wiki) and live video conferencing tutoring sessions (RESN Live). Beyond learning support, RESN Online Coffee Chats (ROCC) gives students the opportunity to chat with university students to learn about […]

Future Leaders Program

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Teach for Australia’s Future Leaders Program (FLP) is a one-year professional development program supporting educators working in RRR schools to develop their leadership skills and capabilities.

Whilst acknowledging the unique challenges leaders in RRR schools face, FLP recognises and celebrates the strength and resilience of these communities and the valuable insights they offer to the education system as a whole.

FLP aims to address three core objectives to increase the:

– Quality of school leadership training and development in RRR schools.

– Aspirations among high-achieving educators in RRR schools to become school leaders.

– Supply of educators with high-quality leadership […]

Associate Professor Hernan Cuervo

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Associate Professor Hernan Cuervo is an internationally recognised expert on Australian rural education and a distinguished leader in the field. Throughout his 20-year research career, he has shown tireless commitment to better understanding rural education. He has done so in 50 academic publications and 45 public addresses.

Hernan has achieved a unique combination of theoretical innovation, methodological rigour and social impact. His distinguished ability to centre social justice in rural education has helped break conceptual ground in the field. His development of a plural notion of justice moving the agenda from resource distribution to respect for rural education and lives […]

Articulating the Voices of Australian Geographically Isolated Remote Education Tutors

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In 2021 our team conducted a national survey that attracted close to 600 Remote Education Tutors (RETs) who shared their experiences and perceptions of the work they do in this role. These workers are often recognised as Govies or Home Tutors, and they are the conduit between the school of distance education and the students enrolled in these schools. The survey findings identified that whilst the majority of these RETs do not have teaching credentials nor are studying to be a teacher, they are indisputably fulfilling an educator’s role. Using the findings of the survey, we conducted the second phase […]

A student-centred approach: understanding higher education pathways through co-design

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Dr Mollie Dollinger has contributed significantly to the Australian regional and rural education discourse through her application of co-design methods and students as partners approaches. In 2020-2021 Mollie led a National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) grant where she and her team collaborated with RR schools across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia to explore Middle Year students’ perspectives and ideas on how to improve pathways into higher education. Arising from the research project was key findings that spanned curriculum development, teaching training, and participatory design methods. For example, findings included the benefits of context-specific interventions (Dollinger et […]

2021 AREAs

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The 2021 Australian Rural Education Awards were announced at the National Conference for Regional, Rural and Remote Education Webinar on 24 May 2021. Since 1994, the Australian Rural Education Award (AREA) has been awarded annually to an institution, organisation or industry to recognise excellence in rural education in Australia.

2021 AREAs – Check out all the projects!Download

2021 Rural Education Research Portal

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Launched at the 2021 National Conference for Regional, Rural & Remote Education (NCRRRE) Webinar, this resource combines 58 rural education abstracts and author contacts, recordings of the Rural Education Webinar and video resources previewed, Heywire vids and 2021 Australian Rural Education Award winning projects.

2021 Rural Education Webinar Monday 24 May 2021 – Recording

Heywire Videos – Inspirational Regional Voices
Brielle: “Going deaf is not a burden”
Zurack: “I knew I needed to step up my game”


Rural Education Abstracts and Author Contacts – NCRRRE 2021

2021 Area Awards Announced

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2021 Call for Nominations

Since 1994, the Australian Rural Education Award (AREA) has been awarded annually to an institution, organisation or industry to recognise excellence in rural education in Australia.

Category 1: Existing projects that demonstrate a proven link between a rural, regional and/or remote school or learning context and the local community, and benefitting a defined group.
Category 2: Future projects that support new and creative thinking in professional practice aimed at improving student outcomes in a rural, regional and/or remote setting.
Category 3: Pre-service teachers or institutions recognising demonstrated excellence in professional learning practice in rural, regional and/ or remote settings.
Category 4: Projects […]

AIJRE: Community as an Anchor, Compass and Map for Thriving Rural Education

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Current issue of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education

Community as an Anchor, Compass and Map for Thriving Rural Education

The papers presented in this issue gravitate around notions of community within rural, regional and remote education. These concepts of community are not new to us in education, particularly those of us with an interest in the teaching and learning that happens beyond the city limits. This concept is not new to our readership either, having already devoted attention to community in an earlier issue in 2020 and across the journal’s significant history. What these papers offer […]

AIJRE Journal No 2 2020 – Boarding Schools for rural and remote families: panacea or problem?

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The Australian and International Journal of Rural Education has just released Vol 30 No 2 (2020): Boarding Schools for rural and remote families: panacea or problem?

Families living in rural and remote communities often face a difficult choice when their children reach high school age. When there is no local high school, or what is available does not meet their children’s educational needs, one option is to send them to boarding school, which are usually located a long way from home. This is not easy for parents or children. The research presented in this special edition highlights some of the […]

2021 SPERA Conference

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National Conference for Regional, Rural and Remote Education:
Informing a creative tomorrow, Barossa Valley April 2021

The NCRRE will bring together teachers, principals, university professional and academic staff, educational leaders, equity and widening participation practitioners, all community owned Regional Universities Centres and their boards, government departments, policy makers, not-for-profit organisations and anyone interested in RRR education and community development. or contact Conference Director Chris Ronan chris@cep.org.au

Submissions to present at this conference are now open until 30 November 2020. Three types of submissions are welcomed: Academic abstracts for presentations of research, emerging initiatives exploring innovative ideas in education, […]

2019 SPERA Annual General Meeting

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The 2019 SPERA Annual General Meeting took place on:

Thursday, 3rd October 2019.

 

The following members were nominated and elected to the Executive Committee:

Serena Burnett
Joel Davis
Chris Ronan
Carol Steel
Melyssa Fuqua
Samantha Avitaia
Nina Fotinatos
Ian McIntosh
Monica Davis
Sue Ledger
Jane Downey
Jaimey Facchin
Brian O’Neill
Bronwyn Relf
Chris Reading

SPERA AGM 2019 Minutes

AIJRE Journal No 1 2020 – The Importance of Community

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The Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, Vol 30 No 1 (2020)

Global to Local Policy and Practices: The Importance of Community

This edition positions communities of practice as a significant place-based enabler for successful placements, partnerships and practices in rural and remote contexts.

 

Vol 30 No 1 (2020): Global to Local Policy and Practices: The Importance of Community

2019 EPHEA/NAEEA Conference – Enabling Excellence through Equity

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In November 2019 equity practitioners and researchers gather in Wollongong to attend the biennial Equity Practitioners in Higher Education in Australasia (EPHEA) and  National Association of Enabling Educators in Australia (NAEEA). This was a key professional development forum for equity and enabling practitioners in a wide range of fields to highlight best student and staff practices in higher education. Practitioners and researchers specialising in enabling and equity across the higher education sectors in Australia, New Zealand/Pacific and internationally were invited to participate.

The theme for the 2019 conference was ‘Enabling Excellence through Equity’ with workshops and presentations exploring these sub-themes:

[…]

Rural Education International Research Alliance

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Professor Simone White (Faculty of Education, Office of International and Engagement (Education) launched the new Rural Education International Research Alliance (REIRA). REIRA is the go to place to find up to date scholarly information about rural education people, places, projects, publications and partnerships. This is an international research alliance dedicated to improving the learning, teaching and wellbeing of all rural students, their families and communities (extract from website). Educators, researchers and interested key stakeholders are encouraged to engage with REIRA including membership, contribution and collaboration. For more information, please see the website link. The co-leaders and curators of this initiative are […]