Ruraling Education Research

Dr. Philip Roberts is Associate Professor in Curriculum Inquiry and Rural Education at the University of Canberra, and leads the Rural Education and Communities research group within the Centre for Sustainable Communities. He was Chief Editor of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education (2015-2018), is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Research in Rural Education (2014-current) and currently Associate Editor of the international journal, Curriculum Perspectives (2018-current). He has served as the national convener of the Rural Education Special Interest Group of the Australian Association for Research in Education 2015-2018 and as the co-convenor 2013-2015. Dr. Roberts is at the forefront of the rural education field in Australia, and internationally. Utilising a plurality of methods, he has been leading innovation in rural education through links with the international field of rural studies (incorporating rural sociology and rural geography) and numerous leading international rural studies organisations. His work is orientated towards trialling new approaches to researching rural education and engaging with rurality in education. Dr Melyssa Fuqua has a PhD from Monash University. Her thesis explored through narrative inquiry how rurality shapes the work and experiences of Australian pathways advisors. In addition to having taught at a K-12 school in rural Australia, Melyssa has taught in the Education Faculties at Monash University, the University of Melbourne, and Federation University. Melyssa is also in a number of research-related leadership roles with a focus on rural education and engagement. She is a co-convenor of the Australian Association for Research in Education's (AARE) Rural Education Special Interest Group and is on the Executive Committee of the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA). Additionally, she represents SPERA in the Australian Alliance of Association in Education (AAAE) and is an elected member of their Board of Directors. Melyssa is a co-manager of the Rural Education Research Student Network that connects research students, early-career researchers, and experienced scholars who have an interest in rural education research. While this network is mainly digital, it also holds annual International Emerging Rural Scholars Summits in conjunction with major rural research conferences around the world. She is also on the editorial team of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education.