The study is situated within a national youth organisation called the Australian Air League Inc (Air League). We examine the recent progress of the Air League in South Australia, starting as a loose network of volunteers engaged in a sporadic array of activities, to become a learning community that worked collaboratively and then developed further…

Building the research capacity of the vocational education and training (VET) sector is a key concern for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). To assist with this objective, NCVER supports an academic scholarship program, whereby VET practitioners are sponsored to undertake university study at honours', master's or…

The Torrens Valley Youth Programme in rural Australia is an example of a partnership between a community center and a nongovernmental organization to provide youth services. The program overcame such barriers as differing organizational values and culture, different approaches (top-down, hands-on), insufficient funding, and opposition from the…

A case study of a rural community in Western Australia examined factors responsible for the progress made in breaking down barriers between youth and adults and building community cohesiveness. Community documents and interviews with school personnel, students, and community members revealed that the high school worked with the community to build…

Over the last 2 decades, the loss of population and businesses in many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities has intensified, largely because of the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets. This manual presents a range of survival and revival strategies that some communities have used to build resilient…

Many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities continue to lose population and businesses, a trend that has intensified over the last 2 decades. Mean age continues to rise, while the 15-24 age group contracts dramatically. Such declining demographics are caused by the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets, as well…

This study explores current education, training, and employment issues and opportunities for rural youth in Australia, and suggests ways in which relevant education, training, and employment options and prospects can be generated for rural youth. Specifically, this study documents the ways that economic and social changes in rural communities have…

The 10 portraits, or case studies, in this book are intended to show how locally-owned adult education turns everyday learning into social and economic well-being. Taken alone, each portrait tries to give a particular insight into the daily transformation of adults and their local communities. Together, the group portrait shows how strongly adult…