NSW rural and remote schools research project

Project Timeline:  2020-2021

Rural and remote schools are argued to face a number of complex challenges, including underperformance in school assessments and outcomes. The objective of this project was to conduct robust high-quality research in partnership with the NSW Department of Education to better understand what could be done to assist identified schools in remote and rural settings to lift educational outcomes through tailored and differentiated support.

This focussed on identifying what is unique in rural and remote school contexts to explore the impacts of tailored and differentiated support. It also examined how the Department’s policies could impact on schools’ capacity for improvement with a critical lens on how to optimise systems resources (DELs, specialist staff etc.) and tools.

A longitudinal research project drawing on data from school assessments; interviews, surveys and focus groups with key stakeholders such as students, teachers, school leaders, and community members.

The research aimed to build a strong evidence base in order to inform tailored support for schools. The evidence base may also be used to support context-specific policy decision-making and/or policy adjustments aimed at more effectively, efficiently and sustainably improving the outcomes for students in remote and rural public primary and secondary schools in NSW.