The Oregon Quality Education Model (QEM) was developed by the state to identify the fundamental requirements and costs for a quality education that meets Oregon's academic standards. It will determine the funding of Oregon schools. Among the assumptions upon which the QEM is built were that elementary school enrollment is 340 students, middle…

Public consultations had revealed that access to education was a significant concern in rural and remote areas of Australia, particularly in relation to ongoing economic decline. In response, the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission initiated the National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education. The inquiry took evidence at…

In 1986, Colorado native Carolyn Kremers accepted an invitation to teach music and English at a school in Tununak, a remote Yup'ik Eskimo village on Nelson Island, Alaska. This memoir recounts her experiences as a teacher, and also her reflections on music, the outdoors, teaching, Alaska, and how she came to understand Yup'ik and Inupiat Eskimo…

During the mid-1930s, the main line of the Newfoundland (Canada) Railway stretched 547 miles from St. John's to Port aux Basques, and railway workers and their families lived along the line in small isolated settlements. The provincial department of education, the Newfoundland Railway, and the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company devised an…

Because of geographic isolation, many Australian families find it necessary to send their children to boarding schools for an appropriate secondary education. To determine the impact that leaving home has on young adolescents, and how they cope with the change, 38 year-8 boarding-school students from remote areas of Western Australia were…

At the British Open University (a distance education institution), rural tutors working in remote areas of Scotland felt that professional isolation interfered with self-assessment and professional development. Describes action research into student and tutor perceptions of teaching and learning that provides a basis for reflective teaching and…

A 5-year study of one-teacher schools was conducted by a single researcher in the remote North West Region of New South Wales, Australia. A personal narrative discusses problems of longitudinal research, peculiarities of gathering data in the chosen region, the close relationship of these isolated schools and their communities, and problems and…

Mobile preschool units provide a viable solution to the problem of delivering preschool education to isolated rural New Zealanders. Advantages include delivery of bicultural education to Maori children, a low teacher-student ratio, provision of qualified teachers, and enthusiastic parent participation. Disadvantages include inadequate buildings,…

At a clinical school in rural New South Wales (Australia), medical students follow patients through the health care system instead of being attached to doctors. Seeing the progression of illnesses, the impact of behavioral aspects, and the continuity of care develops lifelong learning skills. Because of geographic isolation, information technology…

Overview of the interactive technologies used by the Northern Territory Secondary Correspondence School in Australia: print media utilizing desktop publishing and electronic transfer; telephone or H-F radio; interactive television; and interactive computing. More fully describes its interactive CD-ROM courses. Emphasizes that the programs are…

Examines the art education classes conducted via radio and correspondence by the Longreach School of Distance Education in Queensland, Australia. Consisting mostly of cattle and sheep ranches, Queensland is marked by vast distances and low population. Considers the ways that this isolation has shaped the character of distance visual arts…

This paper reports on the Contact Children's Mobile, a program developed in 1987 to provide educational and social enrichment opportunities for children from birth to 12 years who live in a large remote region surrounding Wanaaring, Australia. Two teachers travel an average of 800 kilometers weekly to make home visits or hold daylong educational…

This proceedings contains 13 papers on the role of distance education in sustainable community development, particularly in Canada's remote northern communities. Four sections cover theoretical issues such as the meaning of "community" in international distance programs and the influence of students' immediate community on their survival…

Traditional education in Micronesia has been informal and experiential, with a communal orientation. Certain knowledge is secret, and much folklore and mythology is sacred. For over 100 years, Western-style education has been imposed on Micronesia by the Spanish, Germans, Japanese, and Americans. Western education has focused on instruction in the…

This report presents findings from an evaluation of 84 educational projects funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) during the 1990's. Data were collected via document reviews, interviews, a mail survey completed by 78 projects, and eight site visits. Most projects provided services to rural areas or community segments most in need.…