ABSTRACT
Australian data indicate that the further a school is located from a major centre the lower the level of performance in standard measures (e.g., National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy [NAPLAN], Higher School Certificate [HSC]). For remote schools, a sense of belonging, a valuing of schooling and the attraction and retention of high-impact educators is crucial for improving outcomes. With moves towards school autonomy in Australia over the last decades, there is an enduring question of how autonomy reforms impact on remote schools. In this chapter, we present a case study of a secondary school in a remote, mining town. We examine issues of remoteness and context in relation to school autonomy reforms. We explore how remoteness impacts on school and principal autonomy, connection to community, connection to the state education system and social justice and equity issues. In particular, we draw upon Foucault's notions of heterotopia and counter-conducts to explore the tension of physical and structural distance from the centre of education bureaucracies and how the distance creates issues with centralised responsibilities such as staffing that cannot be solved locally. This case study invites questions of what can or should be centralised and localised in the pursuit of equitable and inclusive education.
