Accounting for variation in science and mathematics achievement: A multilevel analysis of Australian data - Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

One of the most consistent themes evident in the literature dealing with ru ral education is that of rural disadvantage. Much research and literature i ndicates that students from rural schools receive an education that is infe rior to that of students from larger urban or suburban schools. Of the matr ix of factors reported to lead to that disadvantage, geographical isolation and the extent to which it restricts access is reported to result in rural schools not having the same standard of resource allocation as urban schoo ls where access is not a problem. This study addresses the issue of resourc e availability in rural and urban Australian schools and includes the varia bles: students' attitudes towards science and mathematics and career aspira tions of these students. The analysis includes socioeconomic status and gen der of these students and investigates how these variables relate to studen t achievement. Do students in rural schools have the same educational oppor tunity as students in urban schools? In this study a multilevel model is us ed which takes into account the classroom level variance in student achieve ment as well as individual variance and school level variance.