Rural Communities and Rural Social Issues: Priorities for Research

This report recommends priorities for research into rural communities and rural social issues in Australia, based on an extensive literature review, surveys of policymaking agencies and researchers, and discussion at a national workshop in May 1999. Chapters 1-2 outline the study's background, purpose, and methodology; discuss issues in the definition of "rural"; and describe various types of social research. Chapters 3-4 examine large-scale economic adjustments affecting life in rural Australia, development issues, local government, demographic change, and community viability. Chapter 5 looks at the issue of social well-being and the integration of social, environmental, and economic objectives in the quest for sustainable rural communities. Chapter 6 addresses issues of education and learning as they bear upon rural productivity, employment opportunities, personal development, and community resilience. Chapters 7-9 consider a broad range of health-related issues; infrastructure issues related to community well-being; and other areas such as Indigenous issues, women, youth, disasters, and crime. Specific recommendations for research are offered in each area. Recommendations for educational research are concerned with education indicators for different segments of the rural population, implications of rural-urban differences in educational outcomes, outcomes of vocational education, transition of rural students to postsecondary education, and links between education and economic development. (Contains approximately 450 references.) (SV)