The perceived importance of university presence in rural Australia.
Drummond, Aaron ; Halsey, R. John ; van Breda, Marja 等
INTRODUCTION
"It is essential we create a place that will educate our
generations short term, and put work and experience into the community.
We can't ignore country towns till [sic] they
disappear."--Survey Respondent
Universities play an important role in the education and
preparation of many students for their professional careers.
Universities offer both generalist training in the form of the versatile
Bachelor of Arts degree, and specialist courses such as education,
medicine and law. These courses prepare undergraduate and postgraduate
students for a variety of careers including becoming teachers,
psychologists, doctors, lawyers and academics.
In 2008 the Bradley report recommended that Australia requires the
proportion of people aged 25-34 having completed a first degree to
increase to 40% by 2020 in order to meet Australia's demand for
professional preparation, and to remain internationally competitive as a
member of the OECD (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, & Scales, 2008).
Subsequently, the Australian government agreed to this recommendation,
with an increase to the timeline such that the 40% target would be met
by 2025 (Australian Government, 2009). Such target means that access to
university is a significant national priority. The Bradley report (2008)
details measures to achieve this target, including the development of
new university campuses and/or institutions, as well as the expansion of
the academic workforce (Bradley, et al., 2008; James, 2010). It is
important to note that when split by Socio-Economic Status (SES) and
distance from urban centres the 40% target is already being met or
exceeded in many medium/high SES urban areas, where transition rates to
university following completion of secondary education can be as high as
90% (Bradley, et al., 2008). Given these high transition rates, any
increase in university enrolment and subsequent first degree completion
to reach the national target of 40% is most likely to originate from low
SES and rural, regional and remote communities and schools.
The issue of fewer high school graduates attending university from
rural, regional and remote schools is a complex one. Issues pertaining
to access to university facilities, course variety and distance
education infrastructure (Nash et al., 2009) may all contribute to the
lower enrolments from these locations noted by Bradley et al. (2008).
Bornholt, Gientzotis and Cooney (2004) found enrolments were linked to
the geographical proximity of the university to potential students.
Approximately 60% of enrolments occurred when students were able to
remain within their current residence. Further, for urban students, 84%
of enrolments were in urban universities, and for regional applicants,
almost half of enrolments were in regional universities (Bornholt, et
al., 2004). Given the need for many regional applicants to relocate to
attend university, many regional students may not apply, defer or allow
their university offer to lapse rather than move to a location nearer
their prospective campus.
The lower percentage of rural school finishers that pursue
university study is just one example of fundamental inequities between
rural and urban areas (e.g., Ainley, 2010; Alston & Kent, 2003;
Bell, 2010; Bradley, et al., 2008; Drummond, Halsey, & van Breda, in
press; Halsey, 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Halsey, Drummond, & van Breda,
2010, 2011). James et al. (1999) note that in addition to the increased
distances to attend university, regional communities may, by not holding
an ethos of the importance of higher education, deter young rural people
from pursuing further study in the university sector. For this reason,
rural residents' perceived importance of university education is an
important factor in encouraging youth to attend university. The pull of
local community can be great on rural youth (Alloway, Gilbert, Gilbert,
& Muspratt, 2004; James, et al., 1999), and for those who wish to
remain close to their community, distance to a university is a tangible
barrier to attendance (Bornholt, et al., 2004). James, Bexley and
Maxwell (2008) note particular inequities in university attendance
between low SES rural and urban people. Such a finding is indicative of
fundamental inequities in access to university studies for rural
residents.
Bordieu (2008) emphasises the need to recognise inequality and
remedy it, rather than ignoring it. He states:
In fact to favour the most favoured and disfavour the most
disfavoured, all that is necessary and sufficient is for the school to
ignore in the content and teaching it transmits, in the methods and
techniques of transmission and the criteria for judgement it deploys,
the cultural inequalities that divide children from different social
classes. In other words, by treating all students, however much they
differ, as equal in rights and duties, the educational system actually
gives its sanction to the initial inequality in relation to culture.
(Bourdieu, 2008, p.36)
Bordieu's (2008) quote demonstrates the need to address
inequity in rural, regional and remote education. In terms of the
tertiary education system, the inequity in access for rural students is
a major barrier to those students attending university.
A further consideration with regard to university education in
rural areas is the current trend for youth to leave rural areas for
urban at a higher rate than the older population (Salt, 2004). While
some of this exodus of youth to urban centres is explained by the lack
of employment opportunities, a key factor influencing the choices for
youth leaving rural areas are the limited tertiary education options
(Alston & Kent, 2003). Similarly, Godden's (2007) research
supported this notion, suggesting that many youth would intend to stay
in rural areas if they were able to access tertiary education in their
regional localities. Halsey (2009) asserts that typically youth are
forced to choose between leaving rural areas to continue their
education, or forsake further education in favour of remaining local.
Such may result in many academically minded rural youth migrating to
urban areas. Further, Halsey (2008) asserts that youth are oriented
toward the future, and are therefore a vital asset to any community. One
method to reduce the youth exodus is therefore to provide greater (and
more equitable) tertiary education options to rural youth. Such a step
toward keeping intellectual youth local would result in rural
communities sustaining important community capital in the form of human
and social capital.
While Information Communication Technology (ICT) is a means to
increase the virtual presence of universities in rural areas of
Australia, serious concerns about the ability of the present ICT
infrastructure to support these demands are prevalent. Bell (2010)
explores the numerous issues arising from the attempt to implement a
national broadband network, particularly in rural, regional and remote
areas of Australia. Bell recommends a range of measures that must be
taken before information communication technology will be wholly
effective as a means of education in rural Australia. The implication of
Bell's findings is that while ICT may be a powerful tool for
connecting rural areas of Australia to what are typically urban-based
services, the infrastructure to support this technology is not yet ready
to shoulder the majority of rural tertiary education in Australia.
Further, the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References
Committee (Nash, et al., 2009) suggests that a blended model, in which
students are afforded both electronic and face-to-face teaching, is
likely to overcome some disadvantages typical of external course
delivery methods. For these reasons, and because the physical presence
of a university builds community capital more than the delivery of
courses via ICT, it is important that there be an increasing number of
new university campuses and institutions in rural areas of Australia as
recommended by Bradley et al. (2008).
CAPITALS AND COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY
The sustainability of rural communities is closely tied to the
resources a community has to ensure its survival. Cocklin and Dibden
(2005) define five major forms of community capital. These are natural
capital, human capital, social capital, institutional capital and
produced capital. Natural capital describes the natural resources and
aesthetics of an area. Human capital is the skills and knowledge that
people in the community have. Social capital is considered the social
networks people in the community maintain. Institutional capital is the
infrastructure of the public and private sector institutions the
community has. Finally, produced capital (or economic capital) is the
goods and services that the community sells (Cocklin & Dibden,
2005).
University campuses develop a large number of community capitals.
Specifically, infrastructure in the form of buildings, lecture theatres
and university facilities contributes to institutional capital in a more
comprehensive fashion than if courses are delivered only via internet. A
physical presence too adds to a community's human capital, as those
staff and students who are physically present in the rural campus add to
the pool of experienced personnel to enrich and expand the lifestyle of
residents by providing local professionals such as academics, doctors
and administrators. These people bring social networks, and consequently
the available social capital of a rural community also increases.
Further, Ellis, Watkinson and Sawyer (2010) emphasise the increase in
employment that one such university campus has played in the region
thereby contributing to the continuing sustainability of rural
Australia. These additional benefits of the physical presence of a
university are far beyond those achievable through simple ICT use. One
example of how ICT has been successfully combined with a physical
university presence is often observed in rural medical programs, which
have become more common over the last decade in tertiary schools of
medical science (Dunbabin & Levitt, 2003). These programs seek to
encourage varying degrees of undergraduate involvement in rural areas,
and have been successful in both increasing rural engagement as well as
maintaining training targets (Dunbabin & Levitt, 2003). More recent
programs, such as the Flinders University Parallel Rural Community
Curriculum have included extended practicum placements in rural areas,
further increasing the rural presence of universities (Couper, 2006),
and possibly increasing the attraction of urban students to rural spaces
for learning.
While the potential for increased community capital and greater
retention of youth in rural areas are important reasons to increase
university presence in rural areas, it must be noted that without strong
community support and patronage, any increase of university presence in
rural Australia is likely to result in limited success. Therefore, the
present research seeks to explore rural residents' perceptions of
the importance of rural university presence in Australia.
THE PRESENT RESEARCH
While there are numerous arguments in favour of increased
university presence in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia, it
is critical to demonstrate the viability of rural tertiary education by
seeking the views of residents about how important universities are to
their local community. In order for universities to prosper in rural
Australia significant community support is necessary, and therefore the
perceived importance and benefits of local universities for rural
residents was sought. Specifically, the present study examined rural
residents perspectives on the importance of universities for educational
purposes, university-community partnerships and issues pertaining to the
engagement of urban university youth with rural areas. To this end, a
questionnaire was distributed at a major rural show in South Australia.
It was predicted that mean responses on all items would be high,
representing the view that rural university presence is important.
Godden (2007) indicated that participants considered tertiary education
access to be a fundamental human right. Consistent with Godden (2007),
and also the mapping rural communities data presented by Halsey,
Drummond & van Breda (2010), no differences between those who
identified as country people, and those who identified as city or
city/country people were expected.
METHOD
Participants
121 Participants (71 Female) were recruited at a major rural show
(a large community event held in a rural town for the purposes of local
trade, agricultural and equestrian competition, and local art and craft
display and trade). Participants were asked to complete a survey (see
Appendix A) which sought information about the perceived importance of
university presence, locally residing academics, and tertiary education
options for rural, regional and remote communities. Participants were
approached as they passed the research site, and were invited to
participate in a survey assessing the importance of universities in
rural areas of Australia. The mean age of participants was 45 years (SD
= 18 years). Eighty-one participants identified as country residents,
while only 18 considered themselves city-based, and the remaining 22
considered themselves a city/country blend. While rural participants,
that is those that identified as country people or city/country people,
had lived in rural Australia for an average of 41 years (SD = 22years),
participants only saw themselves remaining in rural Australia for an
average of 4 years (SD = 1 year). The minimum number of years reported
for participants remaining in rural areas was 1 year, while the maximum
was 5 years. These data may indicate that rural exodus is set to
increase in the near future, or perhaps that participants evaluate their
living conditions on average every 4 years.
Questionnaire
The complete questionnaire is presented in Appendix A. The
questionnaire contained three types of items. There were five
demographic items related to age, gender and other demographical
qualities. Fourteen items assessed the importance of specific aspects of
rural university presence and youth involvement in rural areas on a
7-point Likert-type scale, with 1 representing not important and 7
representing essential. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated
that these items assessed a common factor, i.e., the questionnaire
assessed the general factor of the importance of tertiary education in
rural communities. Finally, there were four open-ended questions. These
questions were: 'Briefly describe how where you live has influenced
your thinking about rural communities?', 'What do you really
value about having university education readily available for your rural
community?', 'What is one thing about university education in
your rural community you would like to see improved?' and 'Is
there anything else you would like to say about university education and
rural communities?'.
RESULTS
Quantitative Data
The mean level of response for each of the Likert-type scales is
reported in Table 1. Mean responses on all items were uniformly high (M
= 6.2 SD = 0.6) on all items, and all responses were above the midpoint
of 4 on average. This indicates that participants perceived all items to
be of high importance.
As CFA indicated that items assessed a common factor, the responses
were averaged across all likert-type scale items. A one way analysis of
variance with rural identification (country, city, city-country) as a
between subjects factor on mean responses revealed a main effect for
rural identification, F(2, 116) = 3.28, p <.05. Tukey Honestly
Significant Difference (HSD) post-hoc analyses revealed a marginal
effect, in which people who identified as country people considered
university education marginally more important overall (M = 6.3, SD =
0.6) than those who identified as city people (M = 5.9, SD =0.7), p =
.75. Country-city people scored between the groups (M = 6.0, SD =0.4),
but did not significantly differ from either group. Note that while city
people viewed issues as reliably less important, objectively, ratings of
importance were still high. Neither length of time spent in the country
nor the amount of time participants saw themselves remaining in country
Australia predicted mean levels of perceived importance. Similarly, age
did not predict mean levels of perceived importance. This implies that
participants viewed the importance of rural tertiary education as high
irrespective of whether they lived in the city or country, how long they
had lived in the country or how long they intended to stay within the
country.
Qualitative Data
As reported previously, there were four opportunities for
participants to respond to open-ended questions. To examine the
open-ended questions, responses were read, and grouped into themes by
two separate researchers, who agreed on the primary themes inherent in
each response set. For each question, there were no apparent patterns in
those who chose to respond to each qualitative question, with analyses
indicating that age group, gender and rural identification (city,
country, city-country) did not predict which participants chose to
respond.
How has where you live influenced your thinking about rural
communities?
In relation to the question about how where participants lived has
influenced their thinking, 67% of respondents chose to respond to the
question. In the examination of responses, 3 primary themes emerged. The
major themes were community, water, and institutional access. The
community theme primarily comprised responses about the close-knit and
friendly nature of rural communities. Water issues were also a
high-priority for the location where the data were collected. These
issues comprised responses about the current lack of water and the
friendly nature of the community, and almost unanimously did not mention
tertiary education. As such, these themes are not considered in detail.
The theme of access is integral to understanding how university presence
is viewed in rural areas.
With respect to the issue of institutional access, of those who
chose to write a response to the question, 14% mentioned a lack of, or a
need to improve, access to critical institutions, specifically those
relating to health and education, especially tertiary education. The
issues regarding the importance of access are exemplified by one
participant's quote: "Giving rural youths the opportunity to
obtain a uni education without having to make other huge changes in
their lives ie moving away from home, so they can focus on their
studying [sic]" Other examples of responses in this theme were:
"Small town, tight knit communities. Facilities needed for
education, etc." and "I think the country is a better
environment to raise children, however the rural areas definitely lack
both services to the community and a chance for further education
opportunities."
What is valued about having university education available locally
in your community?
In the evaluation of the primary themes in the question about what
participant's valued about education in their local community (to
which 75% of participants responded), 2 main themes emerged. These
themes were: attracting and retaining people in rural communities, and
access to tertiary educational facilities. Most commonly, attracting and
retaining people in rural communities was reported, which was mentioned
in 42% of responses. One participant wrote: "Giving young people
the opportunity to continue on their education in the community without
having to move to the city." Another participant indicated:
"Having university courses locally--people don't leave--also
may attract people to [the] area." Often, this theme was
specifically referred to with regard to retaining youth within rural
Australia. Further, when rural youth were central to the theme,
particular mention was made of the increased family support available to
them if they remained in rural areas. Examples of responses in this
theme were: "Families can stay together cheaper local
support." and "I think it would be very beneficial for the
younger generations to be able to be university educated while remaining
close to family when they need that support when it is needed
most."
Participants reported valuing access to tertiary education,
specifically university education, in approximately 30% of responses.
These responses typically comprised indications that having access to
university being indicative of increased equity between rural and urban
locations, and indicated the importance of a range of career options,
particularly for rural youth. Financial benefits of having local
university access were emphasised by some participants, indicating that
some, perhaps many rural students would be more likely to attend
university if they did not have to leave home, or endure increased
travel or living costs to move to urban areas. For example, responses
included: "Education becomes affordable to many more young
people.", "More people will choose to attend university if it
is more readily available. More job opportunities. Encourage people to
stay in country." and "Keeping costs to families down.
Distance and board is a problem."
The above two themes were illustrated by a quote from one of the
respondents who completed the questionnaire on the first day of the two
day event. They wrote: "I think many young people don't
necessarily want to or can afford to travel and live away from home to
do uni so many don't. If services are available locally more people
would uptake it and it keeps work in the community--therefore it's
very important."
What is one thing about university education in your rural
community you would like to see improved?
Examination of the responses to what needs to be improved about
university education in rural Australia (in which 75% of participants
responded) revealed four primary themes. These themes were
infrastructure, ICT/distance education, course variety, and financial
difficulties. Each of these themes are examined in detail below.
The need for university infrastructure was mentioned in 29% of
responses, while distance education was mentioned in a further 7% of
responses. Broadly, these two themes can be conceptualised as issues of
accessibility. Participants were concerned with the need for access to
tertiary education facilities and courses. This indicated that while
participants in the previous qualitative question valued access to
tertiary educational institutions, that participants believed that this
access was in need of improvement. While some suggested that distance
education courses would be useful, the majority of responses indicated
that physical access to a university was important if tertiary education
was to be improved. When responding to what was needed to improve
tertiary education in rural areas, one participant simply responded:
"Campus facilities", while another stated: "To be more
localised." A third participant responded: "To be
available".
The importance of an increased variety of courses was mentioned by
approximately 20% of participants who responded to the improvement
question. For course variety, participants indicated that the range of
courses available to them as rural residents was substantially less than
available for their urban peers. The responses focused on the need for
an increased diversity of university courses available in rural areas,
whether through distance education or face-to-face teaching methods. One
participant wrote: "More courses available, maybe even a university
built to facilitate rural people." Of particular note was the
emphasis some participants placed on the availability of courses
adaptive to the rural context. For example, one participant wrote:
"There is a severe lack of people training in agriculture. Not
enough emphasis is put on its importance. Especially in difficult times
of drought." Similarly, another participant stated "[need to
make available] Courses that fit the dynamics of the rural
district."
Financial difficulties were mentioned in 8.6% of all responses.
Here participants focused on the high cost of university study,
particularly for rural residents. Some reasons for the increased cost
may be attributed to the increased distance that rural residents are
required to travel to reach a campus, and the increased need for rural
youth to live away from home to complete their tertiary studies. One
respondent wrote: "[University education requires] Funding to help
children who have to live away from home." Another participant
responded "A little more government assistance to encourage rural
youth in education". A third participant wrote: "Subsidy for
country children."
Anything else to say?
The questionnaire item requesting participants share anything else
they would like about university education and their community resulted
in a large range of responses that were not able to be reduced to
primary themes due to their diversity. Most commonly, participants made
mention of the importance of the equity of access between rural and
urban people, and some participants reported financial difficulty or the
importance of financial support to rural communities and rural students
to enable them to study further.
DISCUSSION
The present study aimed to investigate the perceived importance of
university presence in rural areas of Australia. Participants were
sought from a large rural show in South Australia and asked to
contribute their thoughts on tertiary education in rural areas of
Australia. The responses of participants are enlightening in terms of
the Bradley (2008) recommendations for two primary reasons. Firstly, it
is apparent that rural residents perceive university education in their
rural communities to be of high importance. Secondly, it is evident that
there is interest in a greater presence of universities in rural areas,
and that these services would be utilised by rural communities.
Responses on the quantitative scales were uniformly high with
relatively little variance, indicating that participants felt that
university presence, the presence of academics and affordable ICT were
important. While participants who identified as urban based scored lower
on these responses overall, their responses remained high, indicating
that they perceived university presence in rural areas of Australia to
be highly important. The high importance placed on rural tertiary
education by city and country residents alike concurs with Godden (2007)
who indicated that participants felt that access to education was a
fundamental human right. Responses on the qualitative questions revealed
that many participants were concerned about keeping youth local while
allowing them the opportunity to pursue further study. This is
exemplified by the scale item "How important is it that education
encourages young people to consider a range of career pathways?" on
which participants scored 6.4 (SD = 0.7) on average.
Participants were particularly interested in expanding the range of
courses currently available to rural residents without needing to attend
an urban-based campus. The rural town from which these data were
collected is situated quite near to campus facilities utilised by the
Flinders University School of Medicine's Parallel Rural Community
Curriculum (PRCC). The data are particularly suggestive that the
presence of this program has been effective, but rural residents are
asking for an increase in the range of courses taught through these (or
similar) facilities. One participant wrote: "[it is] Vitally
important for Flinders to keep pursuing and supporting the Education
Precinct... "
The interest for rural university presence demonstrated by the
present data is strongly supported by theories on community capital.
University infrastructure is one example of institutional capital, and
the expertise brought to a location by staffing requirements also builds
human capital. This is supported by Ellis et al (2011), who conclude
that the presence of one such university has helped the human capital
shortage. As these staff engage in the community, social capital is also
expanded, allowing for a much greater increase in overall community
capital than simply distance education through ICT. Further, given that
research suggests that rural infrastructure for ICT is presently lacking
(Bell, 2010), distance education remains a less attractive alternative
to face-to-face teaching for rural Australians. Alternative methods of
topic delivery, such as those incorporated into the medical PRCC are
required.
The current study supports the recommendations of the Bradley
review (2008), and of James (2010) that new university campuses and
institutions are required in order to achieve the target of 40% of those
who finish secondary school completing a tertiary education degree.
Further, the findings indicate that rural residents themselves believe
university education to be important in their local communities, a
finding that supplements Godden's (2007) suggestion that access to
tertiary education is considered a human right by rural residents.
Interestingly, the qualitative data are indicative of the
importance of the pull of the local community for retaining youth.
Respondents indicated that youth would benefit from increased family
support if they were to undertake university while remaining at home.
This notion is supported by James et al. (2008), who suggest that the
difference between attending university or not can, in some cases, be
attributed to the prospective student being able to remain playing
football in his or her local sporting team. Greater university presence
in rural areas would allow for students to maintain these support
networks that they have built in their teenage years, while
simultaneously undertaking university studies. Thus, the presence of
universities in rural areas contribute to a value-added model of
education rather than an either-or choice of staying and forsaking
further education, or leaving to study in the city (Halsey, 2008).
The present data offer empirical evidence that rural residents are
interested in, strongly support, and believe there would be use for
greater university presence in rural, regional and remote areas of
Australia. Of particular note was the suggestion that the exodus of
youth from rural areas is linked with the need for youth to leave rural
Australia to pursue study in urban settings. One survey respondent
indicated with regard to the value of university education in rural
Australia: "Young people would be able to stay in their
community--it would benefit them, their family and the community."
University presence may therefore be one factor that mitigates the loss
of youth to urban areas. Further, the presence of rural university
facilities may be one method for allowing urban-based youth a positive
experience of rural areas. This may be another method for ensuring the
sustainability of rural towns by increasing urban engagement with rural
spaces.
It is interesting to note that participants gave low predictions
for how long they saw themselves remaining in rural areas of Australia.
The mean response on this item was 4 years (SD = 1 year), and the
maximum indicated was 5 years, and did not differ by age group. It is
unclear whether this amount of time was influenced by current
difficulties with the sustainability of the town, such as water
shortages, or whether it represents some disillusionment with the rural
lifestyle. It is possible that the short timeframe represents a time
period that participants will use to re-evaluate their lifestyle and
decide again whether to leave or to stay. Research indicates that the
rural Australian population is a rapidly ageing one (Haberkorn, 2002),
and the present data may allude to the combination of old age and youth
exodus. Nonetheless, the low mean for participant's perceptions of
how long they will remain in country Australia is concerning, as it
emphasises the problems with population exodus from rural areas.
The present data are an important contribution to establishing the
continuing interest in, support for, and usefulness of a greater
university presence in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia.
University presence is an important capital to rural, regional and
remote towns, and may serve to increase institutional, human and social
capitals, and help to create a vibrant, sustainable rural Australia. It
appears that the outflow of youth from rural areas may, in part, be due
to the need for them to move to urban locations to access tertiary
education, which is both financially taxing and continues to drain human
and social capital from rural areas. By increasing university presence
in rural areas, objectives outlined by the Bradley review (2008) may be
met, the exodus of youth reduced, and some fundamental inequities
between rural and urban areas addressed.
APPENDIX A
Mapping Rural Education and Communities in South
Australia
"Vibrant, productive rural communities are integral to
Australia's
sustainability."
Questionnaire
Note
Completing all or part of this questionnaire is entirely voluntary
and no individual will be identified in any subsequent publications or
seminars and the like.
Purpose
The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information about
rural education and rural communities to better inform what needs to be
done to support them to be vibrant and Productive places to live and
work.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. Please select one of the following: Female [] Male []
2. How old are you?
3. What is your residential postcode, or nearest town to where you
live?
4. Please select either a, b or c and complete d:
a) I think of myself as mainly being a country person? []
How long have you lived in the country? []
b) I think of myself as mainly being a city person ? []
c) I think of myself as mainly being a country and a city person?
d) Briefly describe how where you live has influenced your thinking
about rural communities?
5. Do you see yourself living in a rural community for the next
(please tick)?
Less than 5 years []
more than 10 years []
5 years []
Not Applicable []
10 years []
Please rate questions 6 to 19 from Not Important to Essential
by circling a number from 1 to 7
Accessing Services
6. How important is it for people who live in rural communities,
to be able to access university education without travelling
for more than 1 hour each way daily?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. How important is it for rural students to be able to access
university education without leaving home?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. How important is it for students to have access to relevant and
affordable distance university education?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. How important is it for rural students to have access to
affordable internet services and technology to support
university studies?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
University Education and Rural Communities
10. How important is it to have academics who live locally?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. How important is it to have academics who stay in a community
longer than a year?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. How important is the availability of a range of tertiary education
options available to rural communities?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. How important is it for universities to work in partnership with
rural communities?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. How important is it to have local government, businesses and
universities work together for the benefit of the community?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Youth and the Future of Rural Communities
15. How important is it to encourage young people to think about living
locally when they have finished their education and training?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. How important is it that education encourages young people
to consider a range of career pathways?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. How important is it for the future of rural communities to
have young people who want to be part of them?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18. How important is it to encourage young people to think about
working locally when they have finished their education and training?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. How important is it for university students to experience living
and learning in a country community before they finish their tertiary
education?
Not important Moderately Important Essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Personal Snapshots
20. What do you really value about having university education readily
available for your rural community?
21. What is one thing about university education in your rural
community you would like to see improved?
22. Is there anything else you would like to say about university
education and rural communities?
Thank you for your assistance
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Professor Mike Lawson for input on a
previous version of this manuscript.
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Table 1: Mean responses on questionnaire items.
Standard deviations shown in brackets.
Item Mean response (SD)
How important is it for people who live in rural 6.1 (1.1)
communities, to be able to access university
education without travelling for more than 1 hour
each way daily?
How important is it for rural students to be able 5.6 (1.3)
to access university education without leaving
home?
How important is it for students to have access 6.3 (.8)
to relevant and affordable distance university
education?
How important is it for rural students to have 6.7 (.6)
access to affordable internet services and
technology to support university studies?
How important is it to have academics who live 5.7 (1.1)
locally?
How important is it to have academics who stay in 5.9 (1.1)
a community longer than a year?
How important is the availability of a range of 6.3 (.8)
tertiary education options available to rural
communities?
How important is it for universities to work in 6.5 (.8)
partnership with rural communities?
How important is it to have local government, 6.6 (.7)
businesses and universities work together for the
benefit of the community?
How important is it to encourage young people to 6.0 (1.1)
think about living locally when they have finished
their education and training?
How important is it that education encourages 6.4 (.7)
young people to consider a range of career
pathways?
How important is it for the future of rural 6.5 (.7)
communities to have young people who want to be
part of them?
How important is it to encourage young people to 6.2 (.9)
think about working locally when they have
finished their education and training?
How important is it for university students to 5.8 (1.3)
experience living and learning in a country
community before they finish their tertiary
education?
Mean response across all items 6.2 (0.6)
