Over the past five years, CEP has undertaken two surveys across rural education communities (one in 2006 and one in 2011) to identify the key challenges and opportunities rural schools see in relation to learning provision. The following table provides a brief overview of the challenges identified and also provides a picture of the changes that have occurred over this time. 2006 2011 Rural Communities Changing Demographics Changing demographics Drought and Fire Declining population across some areas while some areas experiencing increases Aging population Drought, Floods and still impacting Declining populations Limited access to community services Pressure on finances Significant increase in mental health issues Deferral rates high for further education amongst young people Rural Industries Number of communities experiencing industry change Learning Provision Declining enrollments in drought affected Need to develop cluster approaches from communities years Decreasing parent involvement Desire to understand contemporary learning approaches within a rural context. Difficulty to provide breadth of learning – especially in specific curriculum areas Increasing administrivia expectations Post compulsory provision a challenge Decreasing community and parental involvement Decreasing enrolments in some locations Access to engaging and diverse learning programs Increasing challenges of special need students Challenge to provide pre school and early years programs as detailed by the commonwealth guidelines Workforce Recruitment of Teachers Retention of quality teachers Changing role of principal Professional development for all education staff and leaders Aging staff profile Interest to develop cluster approaches to workforce utilisation Increasing age profile of rural teachers Clustering to Enhance Rural Learning
Over the past five years, CEP has undertaken two surveys across rural education communities (one in 2006 and one in 2011) to identify the key challenges and opportunities rural schools see in relation to learning provision. The following table provides a brief overview of the challenges identified and also provides a picture of the changes that have occurred over this time. 2006 2011 Rural Communities Changing Demographics Drought and Fire Aging population Declining populations Pressure on finances Deferral rates high for further education Changing demographics Declining population across some areas while some areas experiencing increases Drought, Floods and still impacting Limited access to community services Significant increase in mental health issues amongst young people Rural Industries Number of communities experiencing industry change Learning Provision Declining enrollments in drought affected communities Decreasing parent involvement Difficulty to provide breadth of learning – especially in specific curriculum areas Post compulsory provision a challenge Need to develop cluster approaches from years Desire to understand contemporary learning approaches within a rural context. Increasing administrivia expectations Decreasing community and parental involvement Decreasing enrolments in some locations Access to engaging and diverse learning programs Increasing challenges of special need students Challenge to provide pre school and early years programs as detailed by the commonwealth guidelines Workforce Recruitment of Teachers Changing role of principal Aging staff profile Retention of quality teachers Professional development for all education staff and leaders Interest to develop cluster approaches to workforce utilisation Increasing age profile of rural teachers Clustering to Enhance Rural Learning
Clustering-Collaborating-through-Learning-Communities-Paper-1.docx