Consolidation of Rural Education in Hong Kong and Australia

Abstract

Structural change in the provision of rural education appears to have two causes. It can result from demographic change within the framework of existing policy or from changes in government policy. On such policy change was the consolidation of rural primary education in Hong Kong during the 1980's and 1990's. The policy involved the closure of a number of small rural primary schools and transporting the children to larger consolidated schools. Recently, in Australia, Victorian Government has marked 18 primary schools and 3 secondary schools in rural areas for voluntary closure or would be asked to consider merging. In this paper, a historical review of pOlicies of two governments and their consequences of consolidation policy are the main concerns. The first section will cover rural education development in Hong Kong followed by a review on the consolidation of rural education in Australia at Wimmera, one of Victorian rural areas. In the final section the consequences of consolidation of rural education in Hong Kong and Australia are discussed.