Disparity in educational and career outcomes between rural, regional and remote (RRR) students and their metropolitan counterparts persists despite successive federal and state government initiatives. In this paper, we will present a study that highlights one important, yet overlooked, avenue to improve outcomes for RRR students: early-stage…

In Australia, access to music education is inequitable due to the challenges of distance, different state education systems and a lack of resources in schools. As a means to address this social justice issue, we explore here the viability and effects of a digitally based music outreach programme undertaken in collaboration with Hands on Learning…

University-led science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach plays an important role in addressing declining rates of student participation in tertiary STEM programs and declining interest in pursuing careers in STEM fields (Sadler, Eilam, Bigger & Barry, 2018). One type of outreach program that is becoming more popular is…

A strong feature of the widening participation agenda is improving the aspirations of groups that are underrepresented in higher education. This paper seeks to reposition the utility of this as a focal point of educational interventions by showcasing the success of a mentoring program that takes a different approach. The Australian Indigenous…

There is a need for outreach programs to attract a diverse range of students to the computing discipline. The lack of qualified computing graduates to fill the growing number of computing vacancies is of concern to government and industry and there are few female students entering the computing pipeline at high school level. This paper presents…

The expectations of first-year students are becoming more widely researched and understood. How to realign perceptions and prepare students for the transition from secondary school to tertiary education is less well considered. This paper presents an account of a pre-university preparation programme embedded in the senior years of secondary…

Regional and rural students in Australia face unique challenges when aspiring to higher education. These challenges reflect systematic disadvantage experienced by rural and regional populations as a whole. In an effort to redress these inequities, and aided by the Australian Government's Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program…

The nature of learning in a public library is relevant to what place e-learning and social networking technologies might have there. That a public library aims to provide something for everyone is also important. Alice Springs Public Library (ASPL) is a place of learning; it is also a crowded and composite space. The use ASPL could make of the…

This paper describes a project undertaken by the school outreach team at the School of Engineering, University of Tasmania, Australia, to attract girls to science, engineering and technology (SET). The project was a pilot program designed to engage female students from upper primary to senior secondary in the teaching of physical sciences. A…

Interviews, program documents, progress reports supplied by the secondary itinerant teacher, and results of a questionnaire survey conducted by the itinerant teacher provided information for a brief, interim evaluation of the Secondary Itinerant Teacher Service. The service has endeavored to help all students (including adults) enrolled with the…

The itinerant secondary remedial resource teacher service, designed to identify and help isolated country students in Queensland who are experiencing learning difficulties and to assist teachers in classrooms, program development, and resource strategy for exceptional learners, was evaluated seven months after project initiation in 1979. Data for…

Interviews, project documents, and parent responses provided information for an interim evaluation of the Primary Itinerant Teacher Service, a pilot project designed to improve educational opportunities of children in the South-West Priority Country Area. In 1978, 3 itinerant teams of 2 teachers each contacted 238 students in 164 families and…

Begun in 1978 to provide Queensland's South-West and Central Priority Country schools with a comprehensive maintenance and repair service for most audio-visual equipment, the Technical Maintenance Officer Service (TMO) serves 76 schools with total enrollment exceeding 13,000 pupils dispersed over a 469,000 square kilometer area. Two trained…

Describes a project undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia) to develop a booklet on the importance of reading to young children and distribute it to all mothers in maternity hospitals in Queensland. Discusses the conceptualization of the booklet, fund-raising tasks, and distribution. Reports on further…

Two 1980 surveys of school staff, team member interviews, and examination of project films and documents supplied information for final evaluation of the ROCTAPUS (Really Outstanding Color Television About Practically Unlimited Subjects) program, a closed-circuit, magazine format, videotaped, television series intended to enrich the experiential…