Rural and Remote Education - Tasmania
Rural
and Remote Education - Tasmania
Submission from the Tasmanian
Council of State School Parents and Friends Associations Inc
- The costs for
families associated with education for children in rural and/or remote
areas
- The equity
and adequacy of social security and other provisions to support children
in education
- Funding models
for education and related services, including transport and accommodation
- Teacher incentives,
professional development and retention
- The quality
of distance education
- The quality
of technological support for teaching and learning in rural and/or remote
areas
- The cultural
appropriateness of education services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children and their communities
- Community Leadership
- Culture of
Complaint?
- Conflicting
Interests
- Sexual Minority
Groups
- Conclusion
of Information for the Submission
Introduction
The Tasmanian Council
of State School Parents and Friends Associations includes in the preface
to its policy document the following statement:
"The Tasmanian
Council of State School Parents and Friends Associations holds than an
education should be provided to all which enables the development of their
abilities.
This provision
should ensure that all achieve their maximum potential irrespective
of capacity to pay, class, disability, gender, culture, level of ability
or where they live."
Therefore, when Tas
Council received notice of this inquiry, Executive gave its full support
to the School Community Liaison Officer to arrange consultation sessions
for parents in outlying areas of Tasmania. Six consultation meetings were
held at Zeehan Primary School, Smithton Primary School and Smithton High
School, St. Mary's District High School, Winnaleah District High School
and Geeveston District High School (see map, Appendix A). Parents involved
in all local schools adjacent to these centres were invited to participate.
By this means, approximately 60 parents from geographically disparate
areas of Tasmania (not including the Bass Strait Islands) were able to
directly express their feelings and thoughts about what it's like to educate
children in rural and remote Tasmania.
The Youth Research
Centre at the University of Melbourne made contact with Tas Council, and
thus was able to arrange for surveys of parents, students and staff to
be circulated prior to the consultation sessions. To date, approximately
200 surveys have been forwarded to the Centre from Tas Council, and others
have been forwarded by individuals or schools utilising the REPLY PAID
facility.
The consultation
sessions were informal, and each participant received a copy of Bush
Talks and the Terms of Reference to which we referred during the meetings.
Participants were informed that their discussion feedback would be included
in Tas Council's submission, but that they could also make individual
or group submissions according to the invitation included in the Terms
of Reference document.
Many parents appreciated
this opportunity to contribute to the national inquiry.
These were advertised
as parent meetings, but occasionally principals or teaching staff participated
and where appropriate their comments have been included. It became apparent
that the personal and social issues for teaching professionals are sometimes
quite different to those of the parent population.
The topics cited
in the Terms of Reference are addressed, and some others which became
apparent during the course of the meetings. Reports which were prepared
for participating parents and schools have been included in Appendix B.
This submission is a summary of these reports, which contain anecdotal
and specific details.
1. The
costs for families associated with education for children in rural and/or
remote areas
All parents agreed
that there were costs associated with schooling in rural and remote areas
which were not applicable in urban situations. Some costs are borne by
schools, others by parents. These relate to:
- Sporting events
and school-related activities such as camps, learn-to-swim campaigns
- Cultural opportunities,
eg excursions to major centres to see performances, or performances
brought to schools
- Boarding costs
for senior secondary students and tertiary students not able to live
at home, especially where the student was not eligible for the Common
Youth Allowance
- Transport and
fuel costs borne by parents wishing to give their children sporting
or cultural experiences during non-school time.
Details and particular
examples are included in the summary sheets attached.
2. The
equity and adequacy of social security and other provisions to support
children in education
As mentioned above,
the common youth allowance is only available to families on limited incomes.
In small rural communities, it is difficult for young adult children to
be dependent on their parents, even though in some cases they have dependent
children themselves.
Tasmania has a large
number of students who access the Basic Boarding Allowance (non-means
tested) under the provisions of the Commonwealth's Assistance for Isolated
Children, which enables senior secondary students to live away from home
to attend college provided the geographic location of their homes fulfils
certain requirements.
The State government
also pays a senior secondary accommodation allowance for students in Grades
11-12 of $828 per annum, non-means tested. Some parents had accessed this
payment.
Some parents feel
the extra assistance given to children of aboriginal descent in Tasmania
is discriminatory. Examples were cited of non-aboriginal students not
being able to access additional help in the form of tutoring provided
for aboriginal students. This perception has obvious implications for
aboriginal students and parents in the way they are regarded by and relate
to other members of the community.
3. Funding
models for education and related services, including transport and accommodation
Tasmanian schools
each receive a School Resource Package, which is funding based upon the
number of children in the school, socio-economic factors, and rurality.
Thus, schools are entitled to extra funds if they are 75 kilometres or
more from an urban centre of more than 50,000. Distance factors also influence
the disbursement of Commonwealth government funds through program such
as the Literacy Program (formerly Country Areas and Disadvantaged Schools
Programs).
In one case, the
fact that it was half a kilometre less than the required distance signficantly
affected one school's budget.
Tasmania's education
system, though based in Hobart, is administered through six education
districts. Each district has developed particular ways of administration
and various models for the disbursement of funds and the provision of
services.
Some districts have
found it difficult to employ specialists such as speech pathologists,
and relief teachers are either non-existent or fully employed in some
areas such as the West Coast which is in the Arthur District (refer to
Appendix A).
Many schools rely
on bus contractors to bring their students to school, and there are some
problems associated with contractors who follow the guidelines but whose
timetables are seen to disadvantage rural students.
Excursions and essential
trips are usually very costly. The driver's time must be paid for, even
when not actually driving the bus, eg waiting while students attend performances,
sporting carnivals, etc., and the cost of getting a bus to the school
to collect children is also levied. The transport budgets of schools are
usually stretched to cover essentials, which means that some worthwhile
but not essential activities, eg participation in an eisteddfod, are not
always given high priority for funding. The time taken to get to events
by bus is another impost on both the students and accompanying teachers,
and this is recognised by parents.
Parents expressed
a high level of dissatisfaction with accommodation facilities, especially
in Launceston and Hobart. Sometimes, students in Year 7 (approximately
12 years) are boarding in the same establishments as senior secondary
students (16-18 years), with varying levels of supervision and assistance
with homework. The cost associated with this (approximately $140 per week)
had made this option impossible for at least one family represented in
the meetings. Where families had made the effort to send senior secondary
students away so that they could access specialist subjects, it also necessitated
the provision of a motor vehicle so that the students could get to college
at times when public transport was not available (which is very often,
in some regional centres).
4. Teacher
incentives, professional development and retention
Parents want school
teachers to show more commitment to these local schools. In many cases,
the principal lives elsewhere and either drives to the school each day,
or lives in the community for a short week. However, the financial incentives
to live in these communities which used to include very cheap rental of
department-owned housing, and free or subsidized electricity, no longer
apply. Consequently, married teachers or principals with families do not
always bring their families with them, but commute to a home-base elsewhere.
The relatively short distances involved in Tasmania make this a possibility.
Recent staffing practices,
including the large number of temporary teachers employed especially in
outlying areas, discourage the settlement of teachers in communities where
they do not have guaranteed future employment.
Access to professional
development is sometimes practically impossible, due to the unavailability
of relief staff. Sometimes PD is restricted to original area of expertise.
Thus, a music teacher required to teach woodwork in Queenstown, can only
access PD related to music teaching.
Parents want their
children to have access to specialist teaching in physical education,
art, music, library and drama. All schools in Tasmania have had to make
choices about how they utilise their full-time equivalent (FTE) hours,
and if numbers are too low in small rural schools, it is not possible
to employ additional specialist teachers even if they are available in
the community.
Where community members
have specialised skills which they are prepared to demonstrate for the
benefit of students, their volunteer status has sometimes encouraged behaviour
problems amongst students and a degree of resentment that they (the volunteers)
are providing skills at no charge but teachers must be present for duty
of care reasons, and are paid.
The Department of
Education had a large stock of housing throughout Tasmania, which has
been drastically reduced. Adults who accept teaching positions in outlying
areas often have to share accommodation with other adults or younger teachers,
and thus their privacy and choice is compromised. This is especially the
case for married teachers with families elsewhere. Sometimes teachers
find student motivation and behaviour particularly challenging in these
settings, and after a very hard day at work, are forced to return home
alone or to company not chosen. It is not surprising therefore that these
teachers do not seek to remain longer than absolutely necessary. Sometimes
the lack of privacy in rural areas, and the inability to draw a distinction
between work and home, cause temporary teachers to "give up" much sooner
than expected or hoped.
5. The
quality of distance education
One of the benefits
of information technology is that some minority interest subjects, such
as languages, may be studied in outlying areas through videoconference
facilities. Where senior secondary annexes or subjects are available in
district high schools, these are supported by the senior secondary college
in the district which offers course material and some tutoring. The comment
was made that a college was extremely slow in sending out materials to
students.
Parents whose children
are enrolled with the Tasmanian Open Learning Service (TOLS) which provides
education services to rural and remote students, have made a submission
to this inquiry also.
The Department of
Education also makes an allowance of $1,000 for primary students and $1,500
for secondary students to defray the costs associated with long distance
education, eg telephone costs.
6. The
quality of technological support for teaching and learning in rural and/or
remote areas
Due to an initiative
of the previous Liberal state government which has been maintained by
the current Labor government, some of Tasmania's outlying areas now have
public access to the internet and education services delivered via the
Net. Access centres have been established in many centres, sometimes housed
within existing premises such as the school or community library.
Recently, the Minister
for Education announced the immediate roll-out of more computers to all
schools. One rural high school has experienced significant networking
problems, and the cost of accessing specialist technicians is high and
involves significant travel. Thus, in this school a significant amount
of teaching time had been lost due to the computer system being unavailable.
7. The
cultural appropriateness of education services to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander children and their communities
Only in one location
was Aboriginality raised. One Aboriginal parent of identified herself,
but no other ethnic or racial groups were represented. However, a parent
meeting on another subject early in 1999 in a country area was attended
by a Filipino woman who elected to leave because she found the language
impossible to understand, even after more than 10 years in the town. She
had been invited and genuinely welcomed, but her discomfiture continued
and she left the meeting.
The Department of
Education includes an Aboriginal Education Unit, and also employs aboriginal
education officers and workers in each district. At a recent conference
attended by the School Community Liaison officer, parents of aboriginal
students expressed the following wishes:
- that school/home
communication be based on mutual respect
- that teachers
communicate with them in terms they can understand
- that teachers
not only hear what they say, but listen (which involves
time)
- that true partnerships
based on equality develop between parents and schools
- that they be genuinely
welcomed into schools which display symbols of indigenous culture.
The Commonwealth
government funds Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness groups
in schools. Some schools find it difficult to attract aboriginal parents
even to groups such as this, for a variety of historical and cultural
reasons. In other cases, active ASSPA groups contribute in significant
ways to the whole school community, and are highly valued.
Other issues
8. Community
Leadership
Many small rural
communities are grappling with social problems such as unemployment, and
present quite challenging workplaces for teachers. Principals are sometimes
forced into "social work", due to lack of any other readily available
specialist. Some rural communities have been described as in a state of
mourning, due to the closure of employment outlets, gradual shifting away
of population, including youth and dwindling of services. In some communities,
teachers are expected to provide leadership, sporting and cultural as
well as educational. The local inhabitants do not always take up initiatives
even when instigated by local councils. One principal commented that following
the closure of the main employment engine in his rural locality and the
drastic reduction in population, "the people with any get up and go have
got up and gone". It was the opinion of this person that those who were
left did not have the initiative to exploit the other natural advantages
of the vicinity.
The wish was expressed
in some meetings that teachers with some rural background or experience
be appointed to their schools in the hope that they will be better prepared
for the environment and will stay longer. However, the Tasmanian Education
Department gives priority in staff transfers to teachers who have stayed
in "non-preferred" appointments (rural or isolated) for three or five
years. A minority of teachers elect to remain in rural areas long-term.
9.
Culture of Complaint?
At the beginning
of these meetings, participants were asked to individually complete the
sentence starter "The best thing about living in my community is.' Invariably,
respondents valued the closeness of the community, the support of friends
or family, etc. Various ways of expressing this security were used. Often
the clean environment, safety, and relative absence of distractions to
youth were also mentioned. Yet these parents also expressed dissatisfaction
with the educational opportunities provided, often for very small groups
of students. There was acknowledgment that for example, greater subject
choice would involve increased funding and this was unlikely to be provided.
One principal commented
that by choosing to live in these communities, parents had to accept that
the same opportunities were not be available to their children as in urban
areas. This was, he said, their choice. However, this person is one of
comparatively few who choose to remain in small rural towns for lifestyle
reasons. In that sense, this professional was truly exercising choice:
some long-term inhabitants do not feel they have a choice.
10.
Conflicting Interests
It became apparent
that teachers and long-term inhabitants of rural or isolated communities
often have vastly different experiences and attitudes. Tas Council's meetings
were designed for parents to attend, and the few teachers who participated
had quite different issues which they did not necessarily feel able to
raise in a parent forum. These related to living conditions and community
expectations. It is to be hoped that appropriate industrial unions and
employment authorities are also making submissions on behalf of their
members or employees.
11.
Sexual Minority Groups
This issue was raised
once by the facilitator as an invitation during a meeting, but the issue
was not initiated in any other consultative meetings. However a recent
study of sexual minority youth in North West Tasmania (1998) revealed
the difficulties faced by young people and students in coming to terms
with, or living non-heterosexual lives in rural areas. The fact that no
parents raised this issue illustrates that non-heterosexuality can be
extremely difficult to discuss in public, whether or not it is a personal
issue.
12.
Conclusion
As is widely known,
the situation in many parts of remote or rural Australia is challenging
and the reasons are many and complex.
Most critically,
young people are choosing to move away for education and are not returning.
All the effects of this basic choice flow on to drastically affect rural
and remote locations.
It is very difficult
to know where to start in addressing this huge social and cultural change,
which began thirty years ago or more. For a variety of reasons, many Australians
have come to see rural life as undesirable including those born and raised
in the country. Schools reflect this perception in microcosm.
The future role for
school principals may be to formally undertake community leadership roles,
and schools to become the springboard for community redevelopment. This
is already happening informally in some settings, but obviously requires
the support of government. School principals therefore should be trained
appropriately for work in rural and remote settings, and work alongside
other professionals such as community development officers, social workers,
health professionals, tourist and other business enterprises with the
aim of both reducing the isolation of these professional working lives,
and making real and permanent improvements to rural communities.
Instead of rural
and remote schools being seen as disadvantaged and undesirable, often
by the students themselves, administrative measures should be taken to
ensure that they are truly excellent schools with the best professional
staff available.
Service in rural
and remote Australia must also be rewarded appropriately. Whether as a
principal or teacher, staff members who work in these areas should receive
incentives in salary and conditions, perhaps increasing with the years
of service in the country area. One suggestion is that long-service leave
be accrued more quickly in rural and remote areas. It is important to
change the perception that service in a country area is something to be
"got over" and "behind" in the teacher's career. Teachers have lives outside
school as well, and these must be interesting and enjoyable if they are
to remain in rural areas. Rural communities must be encouraged to "look
after" their teachers, but also to respect their privacy.
Sources
of Information for the Submission
Parent Meetings: Zeehan
Primary School, Smithton Primary and High Schools, St. Mary's District High
School, Winnaleah District High School, Geeveston District High School
Bibliography
Rachael Hogge, (1998),
Working it Out: a needs analysis for sexual minority youth in North
West Tasmania, Australian Youth Foundation.
Last
updated 2 December 2001.
