Northern Norway's population comprises many different cultural groups. According to the Norwegian Education Act, education must give students insight into and a firm foundation in history and culture. This paper aims to present a proposal for how to start working with the creation of local rural mathematics curricula for which Sámi culture in…

Australian Indigenous student participation rates in higher education are consistently lower than non-Indigenous students, especially in remote contexts. This has manifested in the usurpation of remote Aboriginal community control by 'more qualified' external staff. Here we present a reflexive assessment of the development, delivery, outcomes and…

In 2023, a small team undertook a series of interviews and yarns with staff, students and families at the remote community of Yiyili in the central Kimberley. The case study formed part of a much larger study which sought to understand why attendance rates in remote Aboriginal schools have fallen over recent years, to unpack a whole raft of…

This article analyses the impact of three demographic factors on student attendance over a three-year population level statistical analysis of student attendance rates in Queensland (Australia) state secondary schools. Whole school attendance rates were mapped against the demographic factors of schools' Index of Community Socio-Educational…

First Nations students from remote communities frequently make the choice to move to boarding school to complete their secondary education because of the limited educational opportunities in their local communities. To do this, students leave their family and peer support structures during adolescence. Although governments have provided funding…

This case study centres on projects instigated by the University of Wollongong's Batemans Bay campus which engaged other community entities in collaboration to produce a cultural and educational resource in book form. These projects occurred between 2017 and 2019 with more planned for the future. While this work is not a how-to guide, the analysis…

First Nation students' attendance, retention and engagement in remote schools has been a concern for educators and successive governments. In many communities, students are encouraged to complete secondary education at boarding school because of seemingly limited educational opportunities in their local communities. The School of Isolated and…

Ranger programs across North Australia are a success story, providing important environmental, social and cultural services that help people get back out on their Country to do vital work, such as carbon abatement fire programs, weed and feral animal management, cultural site maintenance, and Learning on Country programs for youth. Many rangers…

Rural schools and communities in Peru are rich in cultural diversity in Indigenous languages and traditions, but rural areas remain the most disadvantaged regions. Peru's educational policies are neoliberal and have hindered opportunities for the rural population to receive a high quality education with a critical reappraisal of their cultural…

Successful transition from education to the workplace is vital for young people, particularly Indigenous students from remote communities, to support their long-term economic and emotional well-being, social inclusion, physical and mental health. This paper reports findings from a three-year study undertaken collaboratively with young people at a…

Canada's colonial relationship to First Peoples was predicated on the imposition of church-run residential schools, systemic racism, and chronic underfunding of education on reserve (Dart, 2019). As a result, the relationship between Indigenous learners, families and the school system is fraught with mistrust, scepticism regarding the purposes of…

The term 'choice-less choice' in education arises from the ethical dilemma where parents are left with no option other than one they do not want to choose. In this article, we draw particularly from David Mander's (2012) use of the term, where he applied it to First Nations students from Western Australia. In Australia, choice-less choice applies…

Residential schools for indigenous students are rarely conceptualised as "castles of hope," but because of the difficulty of providing quality education in rural areas, they remain an option, or a necessity, for many indigenous students. Although most contemporary residential schools differ from those that purposefully sought to…

In 2023, researchers from the Batchelor Institute worked with staff, students and families from the Nawarddeken Academy in West Arnhem Land, which offers bicultural, community-driven education. Together, they engaged in a series of yarning circles as interviews with staff, students and families. The focus of the study was on retention, attendance…

The Australian education system works well for most students. However, equitable access to secondary education is problematic for First Nations people living in remote communities. There is a strong emphasis on Year 12 completion as an indicator of successful engagement in remote First Nations education. This has been partly driven by Australian…