Parental choice of school by rural and remote parents

Abstract

Parental choice of school is an under-researched area in the Australian educational literature. Moreover, research in this area tends to focus on school choice with respect to government policy and market influences. This paper presents the findings from doctoral research which explored the ways in which parents living in rural and remote areas selected a secondary boarding school for their child. In particular, the paper shows the complex psychical constructions undertaken by non-Indigenous parents in their defining of ‘good’ schools, which subsequently underpin their selection of school. The confluences of geography, school culture and race on the parental choice of school process are explored.