Enhancing Student Achievement in Mathematics: Identifying the Needs of Rural and Regional Teachers in Australia

This paper presents results from a survey of secondary mathematics teachers in rural, regional and metropolitan schools across Australia. The purpose of the survey was to compare the major needs of teachers in relation to the attraction and retention of qualified staff, professional development, availability of material resources and support personnel, and the accessibility of a range of student learning opportunities across the three geographical areas. Although differences emerged for some of these factors, the most significant findings were identified in schools with Indigenous populations of greater than 20%. A review of the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results indicates that Australian students achieved comparably with a mean of 525 points to the OECD mean of 500 points, with similar results emerging for PISA 2000. However, when these results are deconstructed further, variations in student achievement across geographical divisions are identifiable. Table 1 presents data for PISA 2003 and illustrates that the mean score for students in remote schools for scientific and mathematical literacy was below the international mean of 500. Further, the standard error bars demonstrate that Australian students in metropolitan schools significantly outperformed (p < 0.05) those in provincial schools, who in turn had a higher mean achievement than students in remot