Australian Rural Education Awards

/in , /by

Australian Rural Education Awards (AREAs) have been awarded annually since 1994 to recognise excellence in rural education in Australia.

Australian Rural Education Awards Categories

Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award
Demonstrating a successful partnership for students outcomes in a RRR community of praxis

Community Centric Award
Recognition of a person/project/organisation who have placed a RRR community at its’ centre

First Nations Education Award
Recognising excellence in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander RRR education

Research Excellence Award
Recognising significant contribution to the Australian RRR education discourse

Innovative Project Award
Innovative programs and practices in RRR education

Wuyagiba Study Hub

/in /by

Run by the Wuyagiba Bush Hub Aboriginal Corporation (WBHAC) in partnership with Macquarie University (in-kind support), Wuyagiba Study Hub (WSH) aims to provide Indigenous people from remote communities of Arnhem Land with the opportunity to access tertiary education and employment on-Country in a culturally supportive environment. We have developed two unique Micro-credentials with Macquarie University that celebrate two-ways learning by interweaving Academic and Cultural units. The cultural units were developed and are taught by local Aboriginal Elders and knowledge holders. Since 2018, over 100 students have attended the Study Hub which has also created a pathway to Macquarie University for 23 students.

This program is Closing the Gap in Indigenous Higher Education in this region and has been cited regularly in Australian Government reports on ‘Closing the Gap’ and Indigenous education. In 2023 the first University graduate in south east Arnhem Land since the mid-1980’s will come out of this program, hopefully followed by many more. Furthermore, WBHAC employs over 50 Indigenous people from Wuyagiba and surrounding communities in teaching, management, administration and operations roles, many of who were previously unemployed. Our staff and students are of all ages, ranging from 18 to 75, and all identify as Aboriginal.

Now in its 5th year of operation, the program continues to grow both as an educational institution and a successful business that supports Indigenous people, employment and community development in remote Arnhem Land.

Category Winner 2022: Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award
https://www.wuyagibastudyhub.org/

HarvestEd Student Agricultural program

/in /by

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 local needs, generate new ideas, and solve problems in agriculture using a design-thinking process. Students join together as a virtual community and meet face-to-face for workshops and to share the outcomes of their investigations which explore the agricultural and intercultural connections between local needs and global solutions.

Solutions developed through the community of praxis include redirecting rainfall from towns with heavy rainfall to communities affected by drought, leveraging technology to manage cattle fencing, using technology by attaching a collar to cows to assesses their overall health and raising awareness about the impact that bees have on agricultural and medical industries.

Category Winner 2022: Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award

Harvest Ed Program Video

Skilling the Pilbara

/in /by

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 profession and provide a critical upskilling opportunity, and the other is that they are locally supported by the PUC.

This includes study space and face-to-face administrative and academic support, “bridging the gap” between the students and the universities, helping students to stay connected and engaged. Furthermore, through an appreciation of the unique work and family life challenges of Pilbara students, the PUC advocates for change in course delivery that improves the study experience. Student feedback validates that this bespoke support framework is instrumental in students’ study progression and academic success, as well as affecting broader positive emotional and social outcomes.

https://www.guc.edu.au/tag/pilbara-universities-centre/

Category: Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award

Menindee Central School & Uni Newcastle

/in /by

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 of ITE students through more practicum and intern placements,
  3. the community/ School deploying their already existing professional development for new staff in the region, an on-country experience of learning local history and culture, and
  4. providing Menindee students a chance to visit and experiences what STEM University study involves

Along side this work, the schools itself is working in collaboration with members of the School of Education in developing alternative models and structures of curriculum designed to increase the number of students seeking further educational or enterprise growth beyond graduation from MCS.

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/school/education

Category: Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award

Edith Cowan & Greenbushes Primary School

/in /by

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; equipment and prizes for students to compete in the inter-school robotics competitions, co-hosting the annual Science Fair for schools in the region, co-designing the restoration of mining voids to vibrant wetlands, and professional development opportunities for staff.

Membership on the school council also includes a representative from the regional campus of Edith Cowan University. Preserving the school within the community builds the region’s social, cultural and economic capital. Partnerships between this small rural school, their community and local industry have enabled the development of teachers’ capabilities and expansion of students’ horizons so they can aspire to achieve their goals.

Category: Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award
https://www.greenbushesprimaryschool.wa.edu.au/newsletters

Quality Teaching Rounds Digital/ Teachers and Teaching Research Centre

/in /by

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 teachers from regional, remote and very remote areas. When compared with the control group, participating primary teachers significantly increased the quality of their teaching (0.4 effect) and their students achieved two-months’ additional attainment in reading over the eight-month study period.

The cross-school experience of QTR Digital broadened teachers’ professional networks and provided rare opportunities to view colleagues from other schools in similar contexts. Participants described QTR Digital as “an exceptional program”. They found the experience “validating,” even changing the minds of some who were thinking of leaving the profession. The ultimate beneficiaries are RRR students.

Category: Regional, Remote, Rural Partnership Award
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/research/centre/teachers-and-teaching/quality-teaching-rounds

Geraldton Universities Centre

/in /by

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 in Nursing, Education, Psychology, Social Work, Accounting, Business, Engineering and Environmental Science has seen GUC produce 470 graduates since inception to supply a professional workforce for Geraldton’s schools, hospitals, community agencies and businesses. With a strategic focus on Aboriginal student support, 6% of graduates have been Aboriginal, providing inspiration and role models for future Indigenous students to follow. Further, in the past 10 years, 278 local students have been supported in bridging programs to achieve university entrance, a life changing opportunity for individuals and the community. GUC provides an exemplar, and actively assists, more than 25 RUCs now funded throughout Australia.

Category Winner 2022: Community Centric Award
http://www.guc.edu.au

Discover Your Future

/in /by

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 industry-focused activities and discussions with over 30 professionals across 15 local organisations. The substantial industry participation emerged through a robust community engagement strategy that highlighted the mutually beneficial partnerships between young people, education stakeholders, and local industry. Subsequently, industry partners viewed the project as a creative contribution to the community’s workforce development and youth retention strategies. One local professional stated, “The event was extremely well executed. The DYF event engaged young people in a variety of interesting and exciting ways which kept the energy levels of the participants high and created an opportunity for more open dialogue during the career engagement section of the session.”

Positively, almost 80% of students stated they had learned about new careers that they had not considered before, and 88% said they feel they have multiple career options to choose from once they finish school. CUC Far West continues to consult with youth in identifying and developing programs that aim to build the aspirations of RRR people. Additionally, DYF moved to be a springboard for further collaborative efforts of the Far West community to support young people through increasing exposure and engagement with potential employment and education opportunities and pathways. Finally, DYF’s success demonstrates the importance of a program model that places young people and the community at the centre of career education.

Highly Commended 2022 Category: Community Centric Award
https://www.facebook.com/CUCFarWest/videos/4936140766513520

Rural and Remote team

/in /by

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 they had a key focus in strategic planning and support.

The drive, determination and focus of the team has resulted in teachers and students benefiting from initiatives to enhance the professional learning and wellbeing of teachers through the establishment of Centres for Learning and Wellbeing, significant refurbishments to teacher housing, more urban teachers having the opportunity to experience living and working in rural and remote communities, scholarships focused on growing the rural and remote workforce and curriculum enhancement opportunities for students including the agricultural Harvest Ed program and arts education partnership with Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

Highly Commended 2022 Category: Community Centric Award
https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-educators/other-education/rural-and-remote-education

Speaking in Colour

/in /by

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 lockdowns Speaking in Colour were able to adapt our way of teaching to continue to connect the community with Aboriginal learning experiences. We did this by

providing online weekly forums where early education and primary school students could log in each week and actively participate in weaving and art practices based on Aboriginal knowledges. Our Interwoven and Possum Skin Resurgence programs were also adapted for online learning with teachers being supported by cultural knowledge holders and provided lesson plans so this essential learning could continue, the teachers feeling comfortable and confident to facilitate these lesson with online support from one of our educators. Each fortnight we offered both in work hours and after work hours NESA accredited Teacher Profession Learning in an online setting so educators and teachers could use this time to catch up on much needed professional development.

In 2020/2021 Sic was able to win a contract to provide professional development for education across the state sic was able to create 25 hours of E-modules, breaking the barrier of geographic reach and affordability for our educators across the remote parts of NSW. This content focus is on embedding Aboriginal perspectives into the early education programing linked to their curriculum outcomes, this is the first of its kind.

How we have innovated this space is:

  • We have offered online mentoring
  • Provide on demand 25 hours of E-modules
  • On demand and booked session for interactive cultural immersion
  • Nationally accredited NESA content

We have been the first non departmental provider to regain this accreditation.

As a first generation in business, the focus and energy required to learn new skills daily is relentless. Without a strong support network, it would almost be impossible for one to undertake. However with a social network of people in business now, developing anything is possible.

Category Winner 2022: First Nations Education Award
https://news.speakingincolour.com.au/resurgence-interwoven?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9VDPicGwJApm3VHQcANMRLsENQQ8e_Y6fSuVqpoIgdUqZJkHxJ-qm9rkUxmsAO0nN2uy8Y

First Nations Education

/in /by

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 and services tailored for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to succeed in their studies.

CQUniversity also provides numerous scholarship opportunities to First Nations students, including the Dare to be Deadly Scholarship that assists Indigenous students from regional and remote locations with expenses associated with undergraduate study. The scholarships have funded and assisted many Indigenous students with living expenses and costs such as textbooks, uniforms, technology, internet, course specific equipment and/or travel costs associated with compulsory industry placement.

The University’s innovative and flexible approach to learning and teaching provides opportunities for thousands of First Nations students to complete qualifications, regardless of their geographical location or personal circumstances, surrounded by the support of family and community.

https://www.cqu.edu.au/courses/future-students/first-nations-students

Highly Commended 2022 Category: First Nations Education Award

Social Enterprise Schools

/in /by

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 a sense of belonging through affecting positive change in the world through the lens of social enterprise that is authentic and meaningful.

By creating an enabling environment where the focus is on active citizenship, positive mindsets, and practicing enterprising behaviours, this initiative effectively engages young people with learning to develop the skills, mindsets and behaviours they will need as they move beyond the school gates

Key principles include:

  • Prioritises student voice and agency
  • Gives young people opportunity to aspire to make positive change in the lives of others
  • Makes explicit and meaningful connections to community and business

Winner 2022 Category: Innovative Project Award
https://acre.org.au/about-acre/

Learning Skills Advisor Program

/in /by

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 students to access support, including the positioning of the program as opt-out support rather than opt-in.

LSA is communicated as being not only suited to all students but directly adapted to their individual needs. The effectiveness of the LSA program is seen through the positive response from those students who access the program. Such feedback includes student claims that “without the LSA, I would not have completed my study or had the motivation to study” and “without the support of the LSA team I doubt I would have maintained a 6.6 GPA”.

Highly Commended 2022 Category: Innovative Project Award
https://www.cucfarwest.edu.au/learning-skills-advice/

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

/in /by

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 combined with self regulated learning theories and addresses core (non academic) reasons students drop-out of studies, or fail to progress:

  • Teaching students about their brains and help them discover how they learn as an individual
  • Overtly teaching learning techniques that they can personalise to match their own needs
  • Develop clarity and motivation
  • Build self awareness and reflective practice in a safe way
  • Develop a whole-of-self/life approach to study and other priorities
  • Develop the confidence and self-belief as a learner
  • Develop team work and project skills to support groupwork and build employability skills

Highly Commended 2022 Category: Innovative Project Award
https://learngrowbecome.com/blog/

RESN Help, Live and Wiki

/in /by

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 life at university and the various tertiary pathways available.

Over a three-year period, approximately 2000 students have registered with RESN from over 128 schools across Victoria and New South Wales. We now have over 450 highly capable and motivated volunteers, and collectively they have answered over 9,000 questions on our RESN Help online platform. Amongst the 900 positive feedback responses we have received, one such response details that “RESN has encouraged me to strive for no less than my best; they’ve rekindled my passion for education, whilst having simultaneously bolstered my academic curiosity” (2019 student and current RESN tutor).

Highly Commended 2022 Category: Innovative Project Award

Future Leaders Program

/in /by

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 skills who can fill available leadership positions.

FLP supports RRR communities across Australia by developing the next generation of school leaders, improving access to high-quality teaching and learning for all students, and incorporating two world learning approach*.

Participants experience targeted workshops, a peer network, and the support of an experienced leadership coach – all targeted to help drive positive student outcomes.

Already, FLP is equipping RRR educators with the knowledge and confidence to move into school leadership roles within their school or community, with nearly 40% of the first cohort being promoted to a position of leadership or higher responsibility since commencing the program.

*In line with the First Nations principle of reciprocity, we attribute and express gratitude for the knowledge shared by Jean McMahon, TFA’s First Nations Cultural Advisor and FLP team member, to bring this knowledge to the Future Leaders Program and its participants.

http://futureleadersprogram.org.au/

Category: Innovative Projects

Associate Professor Hernan Cuervo

/in /by

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 has been internationally celebrated. Methodologically, Hernan skilfully uses a broad variety of methods, ranging from large-scale longitudinal analyses to innovative participatory projects (e.g. photovoice). Hernan has achieved social impact by championing the cause of rural education with governments, media and community organisations.

Hernan’s unique ability to amplify the voices of rural educators and students through research, his acute sense of education’s place in rural life, and his indefatigable efforts to think about the future of rural communities, make him the ideal nominee for this Award.

Winner 2022 Category: Research Excellence Award
https://go.unimelb.edu.au/85pe


Articulating the Voices of Australian Geographically Isolated Remote Education Tutors

/in /by

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 of the Capricornia Project research that involved interviewing eight RETs working on geographically isolated properties in Central Queensland.

The cornerstone of the interviews with the participants was their conversation about their distinctive experiences living and working with the children in the schoolroom on the property. One participant stated that the value of this project is emphasised by the researchers’ preparedness to visit the properties and talk directly to the participants. It is anticipated that our continued research will result in an initial but essential first step toward developing a career pathway for RETs with a recognised knowledge base and skillset.

karen.peel@usq.edu.au

Highly Commended Category: Research Excellence Award Dr Karen Peel

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

/in /by

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 al., 2020), the importance of Middle Years careers curriculum (D’Angelo & Dollinger, 2021), and how practice can better support a positive narrative about RR communities and leveraging local knowledge (Gao et al., 2022). She and her team also co-created 10 regional-specific learning activities (Mahat et al., 2022) and a regional toolkit for key influencers.

In 2022 Mollie also worked with Deakin colleagues through an Advance HE grant to explore the idea of a community-embedded university with RR students, where the used co-design methods to explore how universities can authentically position themselves as partners with regional and rural communities.

mollie@deakin.edu.au

Highly Commended 2022 Category: Research Excellence