Building school-migrant family connections in culturally and linguistically-diversifying rural communities: A participatory study from Australia

Migration is presenting challenges and opportunities for rural education. In Australia, migration policy has long involved schemes directing migrants into regional areas to supplement workforces. This chapter reports on a study of skilled migration in a rural area of Queensland, a large decentralised state in the north-east of Australia. The study was an exploratory case study of the connections, or lack of them initially, between migrant families and the local secondary school. The study utilised the concept of connections, both as a response to policy initiatives and because of the literature on the benefits of school-family connections for students’ academic adjustment and achievement. The research prioritised participation through use of interviews, focus groups, student photo-ethnographies and a social event led by the researcher, during which all participants heard—often for the first time—the views of other stakeholders. The school principal and teachers learned about the language brokering responsibilities of the students; the parents—the Australian curriculum; and the students—the commitment of teachers and parents to their school success. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the development of connections—their enabling conditions and the benefits for educational stakeholders in rural communities undergoing cultural and linguistic change as a result of migration.