Education Commons^™

Lifelong Learning In The County: A Context Of Nature, Community, And Simplicity, Donald N. Roberson Jr.

The Rural Educator

The purpose of this study was to understand more about the impact of living in a rural area on personal learning with older adults. This is important to consider because of the higher concentration of older adults in rural areas. This qualitative research was based on twenty interviews with older adults. All of the participants lived in the same rural county in south Georgia (USA). One of the results from this research was the positive description of living in a rural area. Despite literature that often describes rural areas in a negative light; all of the participants spoke about the …

Middle Level Education In Rural Communities: Implications For School Leaders, Douglas D. Thomas

The Rural Educator

Middle level teachers and administrators working in small or rural schools often face unique obstacles in implementing recommended middle level practices. From sharing staff and schedules with other school sites, to inappropriate instructional techniques, to a general lack of understanding of the middle level philosophy, these obstacles can be a source of frustration for school leaders and hinder school improvement initiatives. A better understanding of these issues and the discussion of potential solutions will benefit teachers, administrators, and policy makers in improving middle level education in rural communities. By building on the positive characteristics found in rural and smaller schools, …

Parents’ Perceptions Of The Rural School Bus Ride, Rob Ramage, Aimee Howley

The Rural Educator

This article reports findings from a study of the perceptions of parents about the experience of long bus rides on their children. Twenty-six parents, whose homes were located on the longest bus route in a rural Midwestern school district, provided interviews regarding the experiences of a total of 37 students. In the analysis of the interview data, three themes emerged: (1) atmosphere on the bus, (2) length of the bus ride, and (3) safety. Notably parents expressed concerns about the fact that long bus rides exposed their young children to the unsuitable language and behavior of older students.Support for this …

From Telematics To Web-Based: The Progression Of Distance Education In Newfoundland And Labrador, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Introduction: The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is located on the east coast of Canada. The province, which has both an island and mainland portions with a total area of 505 066 square kilometres, has a population of approximately 550 000 people. With about 60% of the population living within a 150-kilometre radius of the capital region, the remainder of the province is sparsely populated. The majority of the roughly 300 schools are located in these rural communities. Approximately one-third of which have been determined as necessarily existent (ie, when a school is located so far from another school that …

Multi-Party Mobilization For Adolescent Literacy In A Rural Area: A Case Study Of Policy Development And Collaboration, Edmund T. Hamann, Julie Meltzer

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Between 2001 and 2005, the state of Maine shifted the focus of its statewide high school improvement efforts to include an explicit focus on adolescent literacy. One trigger for that change in focus was a 5-school adolescent literacy initiative previously launched in a rural county under the federal Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory contract. This monograph describes the multi-party mobilization that led to the creation and implementation of the adolescent literacy project and explains the link between that modest rural effort and the change in state-level reform efforts. The project was designed and implemented at the intersection of what …

Multi-Party Mobilization For Adolescent Literacy In A Rural Area: A Case Study Of Policy Development And Collaboration, Edmund T. Hamann, Julie Meltzer

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Between 2001 and 2005, the state of Maine shifted the focus of its statewide high school improvement efforts to include an explicit focus on adolescent literacy. One trigger for that change in focus was a 5-school adolescent literacy initiative previously launched in a rural county under the federal Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory contract. This monograph describes the multi-party mobilization that led to the creation and implementation of the adolescent literacy project and explains the link between the modest rural effort and the change in state-level reform efforts.

Meeting The Learning Needs Of Students: A Rural High-Need School District’S Systemic Leadership Development Initiative, Tricia Browne-Ferrigno, Brenda Maynard

The Rural Educator

The Principals Excellence Program (PEP), a cohort-based professional development project for administrator certified practitioners, is one of 24 projects a cross the United States supported by federal funds from the No Child Left Behind legislation. The three-year program is conducted through a partnership between Pike County School District, a high-need rural system in Central Appalachia, and the University of Kentucky, located 150 miles away. A major goal for PEP is improved school leadership focused on enhanced student learning. Findings in this paper include inprogress evaluations of program impact toward (a) preparing school leaders to promote learning success for all, (b) …

Expressed Values Of 4-H Adult Volunteer Leaders: Implications For Rural Teachers And 4-H Staff, Janet Usinger, Don Breazeale, Marilyn Smith

The Rural Educator

Historically, the collaborative efforts between rural teachers and 4-H have provided enhanced opportunities for youth that would not have been otherwise possible. As resources continue to diminish in rural communities, this collaboration is valuable to both schools and the 4-H organization. Currently rural schools are concentrating on the increased demand for academic accountability through performance testing and other evaluation instruments. This trend has resulted in less time for the elective outlets that have traditionally been an important part of school. At a time when 4-H could help fill an important gap in rural communities, changes within the organization have left …

Rural Research Brief: Special Challenges Of The “No Child Left Behind” Act For Rural Schools And Districts, Lorna Jimerson

The Rural Educator

Across the country, states are concentrating efforts to meet the requirements and the spirit of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The implementation provisions and timelines are demanding and challenging for all districts. NCLB is particularly daunting, however, for rural and small districts. This paper outlines the characteristics of rural schools and districts that create special problems in implementing the legislation and summarizes the major challenges of the NCLB for these districts. Reprinted with permission from the Rural School and Community Trust (www.ruraledu.org). Lorna Jimerson is the Program Coordinator for the Policy Program of the Rural Trust.

Teachers' Decision-Making About Place-Based Education And State Testing, Timothy G. Thomas

The Rural Educator

This qualitative study examined the effects of a high-stakes, standardized test on teachers' instructional planning at a rural school. The research addressed this question: How do mandated curricular standards affect teachers' instructional planning and content selection? Ethnographic interviews (Creswell, 1998) examined four secondary teachers' perceptions of the effects of high-stakes standardized tests on their work. Case study methodology (Yin, 1994) guided the analysis of the data. Each participant had several years' experience teaching at Mollusk Island School, and each teacher had previously included place-based lessons (e.g. environmental studies, cultural history) in his/her repertoire. Ultimately, the study explored how a community …

Learning Styles: A Focus Upon E-Learning Practices And Pedagogy And Their Implications For Designing E-Learning For Secondary School Students In Newfoundland And Labrador, Morris Cooze, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

With the increase of online learning in the K-12 environment, research must turn to specific studies focused upon this level. One area of investigation surrounds the development of online course content and individualised student learning styles. This review found that although there is a vast body of research concerning online learning in the post-secondary environment, this is not true for K-12 education. Recent studies have begun the discussion for secondary school students as online learning becomes more prevalent and accepted as a means of learning. The lessons that these studies bring forward may be of particular interest to instructional designers …

Rural Teachers In Project Launch, Mary M. Harris, Linda Holdman, Robin Clark, T. Robert Harris

The Rural Educator

The success of Project Launch, a teacher induction program sponsored by a regional teacher center and a consortium of universities, is compared for rural and non-rural participants. Indicators of success include teacher accomplishment of action plan goals, teacher self and mentor assessment of teaching strengths related to action plan goals, profiles of teaching strengths, and retention in teaching. Measures of teaching strength are related to INTASC standards. Rural participants differed significantly from non-rural participants in their lower self-perceived accomplishment of action plan goals. Rural participants were significantly more likely to move from their 1st positions after 1 year, but their …

Building Capacity For Continuous Improvement Of Math And Science Education In Rural Schools, Roy E. Blanton, Hobart L. Harmon

The Rural Educator

Schools in 47 high-poverty school districts located mostly along the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia may have a head start on new requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, thanks to a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Begun in April 2000, the five-year Coastal Rural Systemic Initiative (CRSI) is striving to stimulate sustainable systemic improvements in science and mathematics education in school districts with a long history of low student expectations, persistent poverty, low teacher pay, and high administrator turnover. The CRSI capacity-building model is designed to address issues …

Improved Professional Development Through Teacher Leadership, Wesley D. Hickey, Sandra Harris

The Rural Educator

Research suggests the need to provide leadership opportunities for teachers within school settings in order to increase professional collaboration and community. This research explored one rural district’s professional development model, which was evaluated to determine its potential in developing teacher leaders. This district’s professional development model utilized their exemplary teachers to develop other teachers through formal presentations that were traditionally taught by non-district experts. This study utilized a practitioner research methodology to determine effectiveness of using teachers as leaders. Data were collected to determine the impact on the teacher leaders and the effectiveness of the presentations as perceived by the …

Lesson Study: A Professional Development Model For Mathematics Reform, Ann R. Taylor, Shari Anderson, Karen Meyer, Mary Kay Wagner, Christine West

The Rural Educator

In this action research report 4 teachers and 1 teacher educator use the Japanese lesson study model of professional development for 15 months in rural Carlinville, Illinois. In March 2001, 4 teachers identified a goal to improve their students’ understanding of two step word problems in 2nd grade elementary mathematics. Teachers completed three cycles of researching, planning, teaching, evaluating and reflecting. They were motivated, empowered, and found lesson study effective professional development in their rural setting. It focused on the classroom lesson; provided an effective lesson plan and hours of focused professional development; supported attempts to put into practice best …

Rural Research Brief: High-Quality Teaching: Providing For Rural Teachers’ Professional Development, Aimee Howley, Craig B. Howley

The Rural Educator

This article was adapted from a Policy Brief with the same title, published by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory.

School Council Member Perceptions And Actual Practice Of School Councils In Rural Schools, Thomas Pharis, Randall V. Bass, James L. Pate

The Rural Educator

In a time of growing interest in accountability, sharing school governance with parents, teachers, the community, and business leaders has become a norm. School councils or advisory groups have become a requirement for schools in many states. This research examined school council members’ perceptions of issues addressed by the councils and council effectiveness in rural Georgia. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between council members’ perceptions of school council effectiveness among council member constituent groups and the difference between council members’ perceptions of issues addressed and actual issues addressed. The research identified factors school council members believed to be important …

Design Of Web-Based Courses For Secondary Students, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

This article reports the initial findings of a study that investigated design characteristics of a Web-based distance education programme for rural secondary school students who were unable to access a full range of courses at their school. Discovering the characteristics perceived to be important by course developers and teachers of Web-based courses along with the perceptions of the secondary students themselves was central in this study, which was guided by the research question: What characteristics do developers, teachers, and students perceive as important for an effectively designed Web-based course for secondary school students?

This study was the initial portion of …