Australia is a vast sparsely populated land and from an early date this
created problems in terms of providing educational facilities. As part
of the solution the nation has had a long tradition of using distance
education methods to provide an education for its isolated primary and
secondary school students. Western Australia epitomises the problems
inherent in having a large land area with a highly urbanised population
and a small but scattered rural one. Initially, the State established a
Correspondence School in 1918. There have been various developments
since then, culminating in the establishment of the Schools of Isolated
and Distance Education (SIDE) in 1995. Since then the staff at SIDE have
investigated and developed ways of providing their students with
innovative educational materials in an effort to ensure that the best
possible services are provided. Despite its innovative nature, very
little research has been conducted on SIDE. The research project
reported in this book is one contribution to rectifying the deficit. It
had three main aims. The first was to develop an understanding of the
emergence of SIDE. Secondly, an understanding of the key functions of
SIDE was sought. The third aim was to develop an understanding of the
issues which present themselves for those working at SIDE.. Implications
for policy, practice and future research in relation to the education of
children in geographically remote regions through distance education are
deduced, and not just in relation to the state of Western Australia, but
internationally.
