A look back: Ongoing dilemmas for rural schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Teresa Preston
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Local Control ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Look Back ◽  
Community Preferences ◽  
Small Rural School

The December 1983 Kappan featured the story of Clinch School in Hawkins County, Tennessee, a small rural school with a student body of 161 students in 12 grades. Teresa Preston explains how the story of the community’s fight to keep this school open and under local control is illustrative of the dilemmas surrounding rural schools that have been covered in Kappan for a century. Articles have grappled with whether schools should focus on encouraging students to stay in rural communities, how to ensure that schools are large enough to provide adequate programs but small enough to reflect the immediate community, and what role parent and community preferences should play in improvement plans for rural schools.

scholarly journals How do Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teachers Experience UK Rural School Communities?

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Lee
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
And Bisexual

This article examines how lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers in rural schools negotiate their sexual identities within the workplace. Although there has been progress towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) inclusion for teachers in urban and suburban schools, this article shows that their rural counterparts often experience their school communities differently. A questionnaire gathered data from school teachers in the United Kingdom identifying as LGBT. Whilst a small number of transgender, gender queer and non-binary teachers completed the questionnaire, it is important to note that these teachers taught only in urban environments. In rural schools, respondents identified only as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). Therefore, LGB is used when referring to the rural respondents in this study and LGBT is used when referring generally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The experiences of teachers working in rural schools were compared with those working in urban or suburban school settings. Results showed that LGB teachers in rural communities lack the opportunity to speak their identity into existence at school, and often find their personal and professional identities incompatible, leading to low self-worth, depression and anxiety. The article shows that in rural school communities, traditional and conservative rural norms and values are compelling and are often protected at the expense of creating safe and inclusive workplaces for LGB teachers.

scholarly journals Rural Exposures: An Examination of Three Initiatives to Introduce and Immerse Preservice Teachers into Rural Communities and Rural Schools in the U.S. and Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Mitchell ◽  
Allison Wynhoff Olsen ◽  
Patrick Hampton ◽  
James Hicks ◽  
Danette Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Initial Exposure ◽  
The U.S

One ongoing challenge that educator preparation programs frequently encounter is their limited ability to authentically expose preservice teachers (PSTs) to rural schools and potential careers in rural school districts. To remedy this concern, faculty at three institutions in both the United States and Australia have developed targeted initiatives designed to provide initial exposure to rural schools, build a rural-intensive element within a practicum course, and establish rural immersion experiences for PSTs. A detailed look at the structure of these programs, a comparison of these three diverse approaches, and recommendations for the expansion and sustainability of these efforts are highlighted within this narrative. Through this comparison of activities being advanced in both countries, the authors provide a better understanding of the options and effectiveness related to initial rural school exposure.

scholarly journals Is the grass really greener? A qualitative study of teacher reflections on their decision to migrate from small rural districts to larger school districts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Deanna L. Jurkowski
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Decision To Leave ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Rural School District ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Small Rural Schools ◽  
Small Rural School

Teacher retention in rural schools continues to be an area of concern. This qualitative study examines why teachers migrate from small, rural school districts to teach in larger districts by interviewing teachers who have already made the move and who have taught in both environments. It also shares the perceptions of teachers as they reflect on their experience in the small district as well as how they now feel about their decision to leave the small rural district. Findings indicate that teachers look back fondly at their time in small rural schools and, while they do not regret their decision to leave, they do think more teachers should have that experience. Teachers discussed the similarities and differences of the district sizes and gave their personal reasons for leaving. Findings reveal teachers primarily leave small rural districts for financial concerns and enjoy a smaller workload at the secondary level in the larger districts. Workload at the elementary level seemed to be similar. Recommendations for small rural school district leaders are presented.

scholarly journals Promoting Teaching in Rural Schools

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Cooperating Teachers ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Rural School ◽  
School Divisions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The University

This study extends previous investigations of interns’ and their cooperating teachers’ views of teaching in rural schools, which were conducted in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. The present paper includes findings from a survey conducted in 2002 of a fifth cohort of interns and their classroom cooperating teachers. It examined the same four items analyzed in the four previous studies (namely: the advantages of teaching in rural areas, the disadvantages of doing so, recommendations about practicum placements for future interns, and advice for these interns), as well as items that also solicited respondents’ views of what the University’s College of Education and the rural school divisions could do to promote both interning and teaching in rural schools. Findings are synthesized and implications are drawn for both the University and the school divisions involved in these studies as well as for other institutions in similar situations—with respect to improving internship and teaching, and to helping promote the stability of rural communities, of which the school is often a key component.

scholarly journals Rural School Consolidation

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Bard ◽  
Clark Gardener ◽  
Regi Wieland
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
School Size ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
School Consolidation ◽  
Policy Makers

The consolidation of rural schools in the United States has been a controversial topic for policy-makers, school administrators, and rural communities since the 1800s. At issue in the consolidation movement have been concerns of efficiency, economics, student achievement, school size, and community identity. Throughout the history of schooling in America, school consolidation has been a way to solve rural issues in the eyes of policy makers and many education officials. Today, faced with declining enrollments and financial cutbacks, many rural schools and communities continue to deal with challenges associated with possible school reorganizations and consolidations. This paper, developed by the NREA Consolidation Task Force, provides a review of the literature on rural school consolidation, defines consolidation, addresses current research and issues related to consolidation with respect to school size, economies of scale, and student achievement, and concludes with proposed recommendations for the NREA Executive Board.  

Cloud Computing for Rural and Isolated Schools

2018 ◽  
pp. 376-394
Author(s):  
María José Rodríguez Malmierca
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Computing ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Pilot Experience ◽  
School Network ◽  
Small Rural School

A pilot experience of cloud computing use in a small rural school network in Spain by Galicia Supercomputing Center, financed by HP Labs in 2010, gave way to a promising exploration of the use of this technology to benefit European isolated and rural schools learning and networking possibilities. This case study will describe its origin, organizations involved, settings, methodologies and technological components used, impact on students, teachers and families, as well as challenges faced and proposed solutions.

scholarly journals The Fiscal Effects of Tax Increment Financing on Rural School Districts: The Case of Iowa

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842199114
Author(s):  
Phuong Nguyen-Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Property Tax ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
Tax Increment Financing ◽  
Tax Base ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Development Tool

Tax increment financing (TIF)—an economic (re)development tool originally designed for urban cities—has been available to rural communities for decades. This is the first study to focus solely on TIF in rural school districts, to examine TIF effects on school districts’ property tax base and rates, and to conduct event-study estimations of TIF effects. The study finds that TIF has mostly positive effects on rural school districts’ property tax base and mixed effects on property tax rates, and that TIF-induced increases in tax base come primarily from residential property and slightly from commercial property. The study’s findings assert the importance of returned excess increment if rural school districts in Iowa and many other states are to benefit from TIF.

A 3-3-3-3 Curriculum

1930 ◽  
Vol 112 (10) ◽  
pp. 234-234
Author(s):  
Fred J. Page
Keyword(s):  
Rural School ◽  
Elementary Grades ◽  
Small Rural School

The plan of splitting the six elementary grades into two departments of three years each, is here proposed. Even for the small rural school Mr. Page advocates at least one teacher to three grades, and supports his thesis with a number of reasons.

scholarly journals Impacts and changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in librarianship: the rural school library scenario

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Daniela Carla de Oliveira ◽  
Marcos Gehrke
Keyword(s):  
Rural Schools ◽  
School Library ◽  
Field Research ◽  
School Community ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Community Libraries ◽  
Precarious Situation

This article presents data on the impacts and changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on librarianship within the context of rural school libraries. We understand the work in libraries as a special activity that is only valued if contextualized. Thus, we question the role of the library and the librarian practices in the current pandemic scenario with the purpose of updating the debate on librarianship in rural schools. To this end, we conducted a bibliographic and exploratory field research mediated by the application of a questionnaire. We conclude by highlighting the precarious situation that prevents actions and activities to encourage reading and the dissemination of pedagogical resources to support school and school-community libraries.

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