Alexander, R. (2024). Higher education, place, and career development. Routledge.

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v35i3.845

Keywords:

mobility, careers, rurality, islands, higher education

Abstract

Rosie Alexander’s book provides rural education researchers with a valuable resource, with helpful theoretical perspectives and evidence to inform arguments about the nature of rural access to higher education and career transitions beyond. While the study is clearly bounded in an island context of Scotland, the generalisability of the findings to other contexts are fairly clear to me. As I read through the book, I found myself reflecting on my own experiences living and working in island and rural communities. Much of the content resonates with me, even though I am unfamiliar with the research context. This is an academic book and I think is best suited to an academic audience. While the anecdotes presented provide insights into the experiences of young people, the theory surrounding these insights would be somewhat difficult for an education professional or policy maker to digest. I found the structure a little repetitive at times, where concepts were reused from chapter to chapter. That said, there is considerable value in this book as it challenges assumptions and presents alternative ways of thinking about higher education access and career pathways.

Author Biography

John Guenther, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

John is the Research Leader Education and Training, with Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, based in Darwin, Northern Territory. Over the last 20 years John has conducted research and evaluation projects which have focused on remote contexts, covering all states and territories of Australia. While his work has focused mainly on learning, the intersections between training and education with health, wellbeing, traditional knowledge systems, economic, natural resource management, mining and a range of social issues, feature in his work.
John's research expertise extends from an array of practical qualitative and quantitative methodologies for research and evaluation, through to a range of theoretical and philosophical perspectives. He is interested in the translation of empirical evidence to policy and practice settings. He has a growing publishing track record and regularly contributes to conferences and researcher forums to share his knowledge. 
John supervises and mentors several higher degree research students across Australia and supports networks and collaborations in several universities across Australia.

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Published

12-11-2025

How to Cite

Guenther, J. (2025). Alexander, R. (2024). Higher education, place, and career development. Routledge. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 35(3), 76–80. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v35i3.845

Issue

Vol. 35 No. 3 (2025): Reimagining mobility in rural education: Challenges, opportunities, and paths forward

Section

BOOK REVIEW

License

Copyright (c) 2025 John Guenther

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