The network of small rural schools in Finland has been radically weakened since the global recession of the 1990s. This article focuses on the social role of rural schools and the phenomenon of school closures. Our aim is to look at rural schools from the viewpoint of local residents and examine how they experience school closures. We seek to hear…

What are the qualities of classroom, school, and district processes and practices in rural high schools with higher-than average graduation rates? How do these processes and practices compare with rural schools with histories of average graduation rates? In this study, six schools were sampled for a multiple case study of rural high school…

In "Learning to Leave," Michael Corbett argues that: (1) education has served as a tool to disassociate students--both physically and culturally--from the places from which they come, particularly if they are from rural places, in effect creating an ambivalence toward education; (2) the ways in which individuals express this ambivalence is shaped,…

Many rural California high schools are impacted by the disadvantages of poverty, non-English speaking students, limited resources, changing demographics, and challenges of the rural context. Focusing on contemporary leadership theories and school-community interrelationships, this qualitative study examines the practices of educational leaders in…

This paper reports on a qualitative case study undertaken in a remote part of Queensland, Australia. While there is some modest agreement about the capacity of contemporary information technologies to overcome the problems of schooling in areas of extreme remoteness, generally, children educated in such contexts are considered to be disadvantaged.…

Academic discourse relating to the cultural relevance of indigenous education is ever expanding both nationally in Canada and internationally. Reflecting upon recent research data as well as lived experience as a teacher educator in Nunavut, I offer a critique of some well-established beliefs connected to considerations of culturally appropriate…

This case study examines the roles that a professor, graduate student, consultant, and community education specialist at a public university in California have played in a partnership with an elementary school and a community-based organization in a nearby rural town. The case reveals that individuals' roles and approaches to public engagement…

This study examined community adults' conceptions of successful early adult outcomes for rural African American adolescents from 2 low-resource communities in the Deep South. Focus groups were conducted with parents, teachers, and community leaders. Parents also completed semistructured phone interviews. The focus groups identified 2 general types…

We draw on interactional community theory to analyze the relationship between information technology and local development through a case study of a geographically isolated and economically disadvantaged rural school district. This district has used state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure in a broad-based community and economic…

Research on rural mathematics education should adopt a conservative approach to method that accepts the existence of a knowable reality; a liberal approach to content that views rural issues broadly and sidesteps deficit models of rurality; and a radical perspective on application that recognizes that the use of research findings in the policy…

A study identified community characteristics associated with the presence of a school. Data from the U.S. census and the state department of education for 297 rural New York villages indicated that social and economic welfare is higher in communities with schools. Schools are especially critical to the well-being of the smallest villages.…

A study examined whether the characteristics of rural communities would limit success of a statewide mentoring program in Nebraska. Surveys of 1,490 students, parents, mentors, and teachers in 10 rural and 23 nonrural schools indicated similar positive changes in student behavior in rural and nonrural schools. Provision of mentors and staff by…

Twenty interviews with school personnel, parents, business owners, and town officials in a rural western Minnesota town revealed an emerging new "rural literacy." This new way of "reading the world" reflected a belief that neoliberal school policies did not serve all residents well, and that rural values and traditions should not be compromised by…

A study examined seven rural Alaska communities engaged in educational reform. Findings indicate that educators must work with small communities to design reforms around local culture; parents must participate actively in school life and decisions; district leaders must share leadership to increase local ownership of reforms; and education in…

Dewey-inspired educational progressivism in the early 20th century is generally seen as an urban phenomenon. This article traces a tradition of rural progressivism during 1910-50, centered at Teachers College in New York City, and explores the implications of that tradition for educators and rural education reformers today. (Contains 47…