Guest editorial of special theme issue of Rural Society. The Dawkins and subsequent reforms to Australia's post-compulsory educational systems have been designed in part to provide greater opportunities for communities in regional and rural Australia, delivering wider access to universities and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), including Institutes of Technical and Further Education (TAFE). At the same time, these communities have been undergoing significant transformation. While technological, market and climatic variations have challenged some traditional rural industries and the communities of which they are a part, others have experienced a ‘sea change’ or a ‘tree change’ syndrome in which the influx of people from metropolitan centres has dramatically affected these communities' demographic, cultural and economic life. This issue of Rural Society explores the iterative impacts of post-compulsory education on regional and rural communities, both in Australia and internationally.