Participation disadvantage in Australian higher education: An analysis of some effects of geographical location and socioeconomic status.

This paper describes the results of a study that re-examined the relatively low higher education participation rate of people living in rural or isolated Australia. The focus of the study was the goals and plans of Australian school students in their senior school years and the underlying attitudes towards education. The study suggests higher education participation for people in rural and isolated areas may be affected less by distance from university campuses than by socioeconomic circumstances and the influences of rural social and cultural contexts. Socioeconomic effects are generally more pronounced and pervasive than any effects of location identified by this study. The implications of the findings for equity policy and programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]