Distance Education

Alana Moller taught her three daughters at home through distance education, but if she wanted to return to the classroom she'd have to start at the bottom. She says there needs to be more career opportunities for home tutors.

Eleanor Beidatsch is used to overcoming the odds, but even she thought a career in palaeontology would be a bridge too far.

There are about 1,000 teaching vacancies across regional NSW. At Merriwa Central School in the NSW Upper Hunter there are six vacancies and a recent recruitment drive only attracted two applicants.

Screen time is a big issue for many parents and educators, but when safely managed it can help children develop creativity, according to an expert. 

Mark* never expected to learn algebra, and he definitely didn't think he would pick it up in prison. But the Hunter Correctional Centre inmate is now aiming for a degree in construction management.

Education Queensland has admitted to destroying trees planted in memory of deceased teachers as part of spending blitz at distance education school.

Teachers at Queensland's second largest state school have been told to use their "on-balance judgement" and still give a grade to students who don't undertake formal assessment, a leaked email has revealed.

Defying initial expectations, Broken Hill's Country Universities Centre continues to create positive change — and now local politicians are lobbying for its expansion.

Boarding school can be the difference between families staying or leaving their rural communities – but the cost leaves many tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. That’s about to change due to a "game-changing" commitment.

The Country Universities Centre is slowly shifting attitudes towards higher education, giving more locals the chance to pursue their dreams without moving away.

It's a feat of persistence and imagination — 87 children come together to perform a most unlikely musical. Whether they're bull riders, dancers or lawn bowlers, they're all discovering themselves in isolation.

Eleven-year-old Lilly Binion has been homeschooling for a whole term as she waits for a teacher to be assigned to her small rural school.

When Stanley's school said they "couldn't cope" with his autism, his parents decided to sell most of the belongings and set off in a caravan to experience a mix of homeschooling and travel.

One of the most remote primary schools in Australia, at Stonehenge in western Queensland, started a school bus run for station kids who were learning online. Dan Prosser reports.

Three years ago, Stonehenge State School in outback Queensland only had three students and parents and staff were worried about its future. A reliable bus service led to a spike in enrolments and 17 pupils now attend the school.

A lack of high schools across Queensland means families are leaving country towns, but this outback council found its own solution.

A five-year-old boy who lives three hours north of Broken Hill has started school this week. He's among dozens of kids on remote New South Wales stations who study almost entirely online.

Chinese students have had to scramble to return overseas to complete their education due to the abrupt ban and amid a lot of speculation as to why the decision was made.

When COVID-19 swept the globe, forcing millions of schools to close, an Australian researcher and an international not-for-profit found a creative yet low-tech solution to help children in developing nations keep learning.

The education union pushes for an urgent increase to a key payment for teachers on the state's west coast and the Bass Strait Islands as the cost of living soars.

Amid the sound of air-raid sirens and the threat of missiles, Sofiia Yakymenko logs onto her computer for an online lesson.

University courses have returned to a far-flung corner of the Northern Territory, in a bid to try and turn around high unemployment rates, and skill people up in remote communities.

Some children in the Balonne Shire missed out on more than a term of face-to-face schooling this year after flooded roads cut the regular routes. Now the roads are dry and they are overjoyed to get back to normality. 

Graduate doctors are being given an opportunity to gain specialist skills without having to head to the city.

Many children in remote and isolated areas of Australia can go for weeks or months without seeing kids their own age. This playgroup is helping them connect, despite distance.