Education Commons^™

Representation And The Achievement Gap: A Case For Prioritizing Cultural Sameness In The Classroom, Taryn J. Fears

M.S. in Leadership

Abstract

This study examined the impact of cultural representation on achievement for minority students academically and socially across diverse contexts. Recognizing the importance of cultural diversity in educational and youth mentoring settings, this research explores how the representation of various cultural identities, including race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, influences student achievement outcomes. Coming from a background in community based nonprofit organizations, I have seen how black and brown students respond in classroom and out-of-school time settings when having come in contact with teachers and mentors of similar culture. Having a teacher and/or mentor of a similar culture creates pathways …

Education For Sustainable Development Competencies In A Community-Engaged Art Workshop, Amy J. Schmierbach

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Arts participation can expand empathy and cognitive growth capacity while creating a social bond and communal meaning (McCarthy et al., 2004). As an art instructor for over twenty years, I have witnessed the bonds that can be created through collaborative art experiences. These bonds are nurtured from a space of equity and inclusion. Teaching a community-engaged art course can bring these qualities into the community, allowing university students to use their art skills in real-world applications to impact society through experiential learning art practices. Making art with others will enable us to help others build empathy and social bonds that …

Digitally Rural: Identifying How Technological Inequity Impacts Rural Students In First-Year Writing Courses, Jo Anna M. Nevada

English Language and Literature ETDs

To teach composition in this era means to engage students with technology; it is all but an unspoken requirement at the majority of universities. This dissertation theorizes, however, that the imbricated use of technology in first-year writing (FYW) classrooms places rural students at an inherent disadvantage, with issues of inadequate technological proficiency and inconsistent access causing a substantial learning disparity between this student population and their urban peers. Through mixed-methods data analysis of student survey responses and final FYW course portfolios, this study reveals that the expectation of technological access and presumption of digital literacy is detrimental to rural student …

Understanding Administrators' Perceptions Of Gifted Ell Students, Abigail Eaton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Students with gifts and talents are identified in school districts across the nation. However, there is severe underrepresentation of minority groups in gifted education programs, specifically students with ELL backgrounds. This issue is important because students from diverse backgrounds are the fastest growing group of the K-12 population. If the issue is not addressed, many talents will be overlooked and underdeveloped (Peters & Engerrand, 2016). The purpose of this study was to analyze administrators’ perceptions of gifted ELL students.

Participants in this study include six administrators from a small, rural district in Southcentral Kentucky. All of the administrators participated in …

Anti-Queer Policy & Rural Schools: A Framework To Analyze Anti-Queer Policy Implementation In Rural Schools, Clint Whitten, Courtney Thomas

The Rural Educator

No abstract provided.

Telemedicine And Healthcare Implications For Central Virginia: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Patricia A. Lynch, Charletta H. Barringer-Brown, Daniel N. Brown, Taneisha D. Brown

Journal of Research Initiatives

Background: Uncertainties and challenges associated with COVID-19 have affected the efficient delivery of health care in Central Virginia. Integrating and redesigning health systems could boost the quality and efficiency of care delivery. Telemedicine has been suggested as a viable solution to increase virtual access to patient advocacy healthcare education and training programs and has the potential to help facilitate the delivery of health services to rural and remote areas. It is projected that access to quality telehealth services can minimize the need for in-person hospital visitation amid the pandemic. The innovation also facilitates remote assessment of patients and monitoring of …

Predictors Of Special Education Inequity In Rural Rocky Mountain West Schools, Jac'lyn Bera

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current research focusing on disproportionality and equity in schools focuses on the urban environment, resulting in a significant gap in our understanding of the challenges of rural schools. For rural, racially and ethnically minoritized (R/EM) students who have disabilities, this research is largely unavailable or minimal, and negatively affects our understanding of rural needs, barriers, and successes for this historically underserved population. There is even less research focused specifically on rural students in the Rocky Mountain West (RMW) region of the United States. Understanding these factors serves as a critical area of research, and is the focus of this study. …

Serving Students With Disabilities Who Are Culturally And Linguistically Diverse In Rural Communities: Technology Access Is Essential, Benjamin Gallegos, Lisa A. Dieker, Rebecca Smith, Nicole C. Ralston

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the educational landscape, students with disabilities, especially those who are culturally and linguistically diverse, and their special education teachers who worked and attended schools located in rural communities faced barriers most schools and communities experienced nationwide. As schools shifted to remote virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rural schools were already at a disadvantage with the lack of resources with technology access. The call for addressing shortcomings in the various digital technology supports towards enhancing the teachers’ delivery of content and the students’ academic outcomes has been a continual challenge to address. This paper …

Is Inclusion The Answer?, Jacqueline M. Hewins

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Inclusion is the method by which many school districts meet the requirement of educating students with disabilities in the “least restrictive environment”. While it is an established practice, supported by the educational community and most families alike, there is a gap in the literature regarding how students feel about being in inclusion classes. In order to learn more about the student experience, five students with special education needs from a rural high school were interviewed about their involvement in inclusion. Students were asked about whether they felt included, if they socialized with peers from the inclusion class, and if they …

Digital Equity In The Time Of Covid-19: The Access Issue, Jonathan D. Becker, Joy Washington, David Naff, Andrea Woodard, Joan A. Rhodes

MERC Publications

This report is a part of a series of reports on digital equity in the time of COVID-19 written by members of the MERC SY20 study team. MERC launched the SY20 project to provide rapid response, iterative research to help address immediate and enduring needs by school divisions in metropolitan Richmond. The project has the following goals: (1) To convene conversations between scholars and practitioners on critical topics in public education relevant to the moment, (2) To share examples of local efforts that illustrate innovation and best practice, (3) To encourage community engagement and dialogue on our work through broad …

Movin' On In Montana: Year Three: Summer 2017 Replication Guide Addendum, Kaitlyn Page Ahlers, Martin E. Blair, Bronwyn Troutman, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Education

Movin’ On in Montana is a four-day, three-night on-campus experience for high school students with disabilities sponsored by the University of Montana, specifically the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, Disability Services for Students, and Vocational Rehabilitation. Summer 2017 was the third consecutive Movin’ On program, and the purpose continues to be to introduce high school students with disabilities to the college experience. The goal is to help students recognize that college (e.g., university or technical college) is a possibility if they choose to pursue postsecondary education and to provide students with disabilities with critical information regarding resources and supports to …

Movin' On In Montana: Year Two: Summer 2016 Replication Guide, Kaitlyn Page Ahlers, Bronwyn Troutman, Martin E. Blair, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Education

Movin’ On in Montana was a four-day, three-night on-campus experience for high school students with disabilities sponsored by the University of Montana, specifically the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, Disability Services for Students, and Vocational Rehabilitation. The purpose of Movin’ On in Montana was to introduce high school students with disabilities to the college experience with the intent of helping students recognize that college (e.g., university or technical college) is a possibility if they choose to pursue postsecondary education. Further, Movin’ On in Montana provided students with disabilities with critical information regarding resources and supports to increase their likelihood of …

Autism In Rural Areas: Lessons In Montana, Martin E. Blair, Ann N. Garfinkle, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Education

The poster highlights Montana's approach to planning for and providing autism-focused services in rural/frontier areas. We describe issues related to cultural diversity, geographic separation and challenges related to insufficient workforce.

School Climate Transformation: Using A Pbis Model In Indian Country, Martin E. Blair, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Education

In 2015, the Montana Office of Public Instruction received federal funding to implement a School Climate Transformation grant in schools on or near tribal lands. We describe the process of and highlight issues related to developing and implementing a PBIS model in a culturally sensitive manner.

The Relationship Of Postsecondary Outcomes For Students With Disabilities In Kentucky Schools, Stephanie Dawn Cornwell

Dissertations

In order to compare the postsecondary success rates of students with disabilities in rural areas to those in urban areas in Kentucky, data were accessed from the Kentucky Postsecondary Outcome Study, a longitudinal study created to monitor the employment and education status of students with disabilities during their final year of high school and one year after exiting high school. U.S. Census data were also utilized to determine various demographic information and rural or urban classification of selected areas. Results show that the geographic classification as rural and suburban has a strong relationship with the postsecondary outcome for students with …

Impediments To Serving Students With Learning Disabilities In A Rural Community College Setting: The Administrative Perspective, Seth Gent

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the challenges rural southern Appalachian community colleges officials face when serving students with learning disabilities. Upon entering community college, learning disabled students are often unfamiliar with many of the expectations that may be necessary to ensure their academic success such as self-disclosing to ensure they are provided adequate services, becoming self-advocates, and navigating requirements of post-secondary education. This study consisted of 15 interviews from five different community colleges across the rural southern Appalachian region in which senior level, mid-level, and front line community college officials dealing with students with learning disabilities were interviewed. A document review …

Experiencing Shadow Education: The Rural Gambian Context, Colleen King

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to gain insights into the practices that emerge at the community and school level to promote change and to understand the underlying values at play in local educational practice compared to and inside the larger structure of national or state level educational planning. The phenomenological approach to this study focuses on the lived experience in the provision, monitoring and receiving of educational services in the rural Gambian context. Attitudes and perceptions are explored, divorced from assumptions about universal educational goals. This provides a descriptive, rather than evaluative, record of the relationship and meaning that …