A look back: Ongoing dilemmas for rural schools

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.

Theorizing about components of teacher professional development: supports and barriers

PurposeThis paper reports on a study exploring a sustained coaching model of teacher professional development (PD). The study was undertaken with middle school teachers in a small rural school division in Alberta, Canada. The goal of the study was to theorize about the components of the sustained coaching model of PD that supported or was a barrier to teachers engaging in a year-long PD series.Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory methodology was used to theorize about the components of a teacher PD model that participants viewed as being a support or barrier to their engagement in the PD. Data were collected from two individual participant interviews: one interview at the beginning of the year and one interview at the end of the year.FindingsFindings indicate that teacher PD should include a constant community, accountability to other participants in that community, and a balance of theoretical and practical support and be provided over multiple sessions. In addition, in order for the PD to be sustainable, barriers to engaging in the PD should be minimized.Originality/valueA recognition of the complexity of the factors influencing a teacher's interaction with PD provides a lens with which to consider the potential for a teacher's engagement with PD.

ACTIVITY READINESS OF FUTURE TEACHERS TO WORK WITH CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN A SMALL RURAL SCHOOL

Рассматривается идея о том, что базовой составляющей, необходимой для реализации инклюзивного образования, выступает готовность педагогов к этой работе. Отдельное место в структуре готовности отводится деятельностному компоненту, позволяющему будущему учителю реализовать имеющиеся знания в профессиональной деятельности с детьми с ограниченными возможностями здоровья. Описаны диагностические процедуры, их критерии и показатели, позволяющие определить состояние сформированности деятельностного компонента готовности будущего учителя начальных классов к работе с обучающимися с ограниченными возможностями здоровья в условиях малочисленной сельской школы. На основе анализа полученных результатов, сделано предположение о том, что подготовка будущих педагогов может быть результативной, если в работу будут включены образовательные технологии, которые позволят студентам овладеть способами работы с обучающимися с нарушениями развития, сформировать собственный смысл организации взаимодействия с ними. The article emphasizes the idea that the readiness of teachers for this work is a basic component necessary for the implementation of inclusive education. A separate place in the structure of readiness is given to the activity component, which allows the future teacher to implement existing knowledge in professional activities with children with disabilities. The diagnostic procedures, their criteria and indicators are described, which allow to determine the state of formation of the activity component of the readiness of the future primary school teacher to work with students with disabilities in a small rural school. Based on the analysis of the results obtained, it was assumed that it was shown that the training of future teachers can be effective if educational technologies are included in the work that will allow students to master ways of working with students with developmental disabilities, to form their own sense of organizing interaction with them.

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

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.

Professional orientation of schoolchildren living in the agricultural region of Russia, based on social and pedagogical partnership

The article deals with the analysis of professional orientation of schoolchildren, living in the agricultural region of Russia (on the example of Starocherkasskaya village of the Rostov region). The following tasks were solved: the model of spiritual and ontological partnership in a small rural school was substantiated and implemented, diagnostics and analysis of value orientations of general stakeholders were carried out in the process of employment in a rural settlement, and the features of professional orientation of rural schoolchildren are formulated. The study was conducted from 2008 to 2018, the main goal of which was to meet the needs of young people in their professional and personal vocations, which does not contradict the native values of Russia. The article substantiates the basic indicator of professional orientation of schoolchildren “trust”, which permeates the communication of general stakeholders in the agricultural sector. The main areas of life that are the basis of professional orientation of school family-community, spiritual-cultural, vocational, social, individual, allowed young people to be realized, as in the agricultural sector and outside it in space of a Russianvillage.

Arte Urbana Collectif and Bulgarian film education: An interview with rural classroom teacher Daniel Simeonov

While arts education is not currently prioritized by Bulgaria's conservative educational administration, non-governmental organizations such as Arte Urbana Collectif are pursuing a series of initiatives and projects in film education, geared specifically towards bringing together teachers and professionals. Here, we present an interview with Daniel Simeonov, a teacher at Neofit Rilski primary school, a small rural school in Dermantsi that has been collaborating with Arte Urbana Collectif on a film education project exploring both analysis and practice. Students are introduced to the art of cinema first, as spectators, watching films in their entirety and exploring first steps towards film analysis. Subsequently, they are placed in the active position of creating and directing a short film. Here, we establish a context for Arte Urbana Collectif's work within a broader history of film education in Bulgaria, before going on to explore both pedagogical and societal perspectives arising from the project through an interview conducted with Daniel Simeonov by Arte Urbana Collectif co-founder Ralitsa Assenova.