Ten Years On-School Leavers from a Remote Island Community

Craig Tucker; Gerry  White; Ken Stevens

Authors

Craig Tucker Memorial University
Gerry White Memorial University
Ken Stevens Memorial University

Keywords:

school leavers, remote island, community, australia, rural

Abstract

Senior high school students in rural communities face the question “where do we go from here?” In small schools in isolated areas of Canada and Australia senior students often have to migrate to larger centres to enroll in the final years of high school to undertake post-secondary education or to seek employment. The question “where do we go from here” was examined by one of the authors in a rural school in Queensland, Australia before the other two authors considered its implications in a remote high school in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ten years after graduating 34 students from a rural Canadian high school were contacted (from a graduating class of 62) and surveyed by questionnaire about the major influences on their post secondary educational and career choices. The significance of the problem of rural students seeking to comprehend the non-local world before migrating to it had many implications for their life chances. This rural educational issue has implications for the preservice education of future teachers.

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