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Full-Text Articles in Education
Transformational Teacher Leadership In Rural Schools, Kirk David Anderson
Transformational Teacher Leadership In Rural Schools, Kirk David Anderson
The Rural Educator
In this paper, the author explores the rural school context and its teacher leaders as a third transformational leadership prototype adding to Leithwood and Jantzi’s (1999) two transformational leadership prototypes of females and new teachers in the elementary school. The author helps illuminate new understanding of rural schools and their highly interactive decision making styles where teacher leaders are a source of creativity development of unique forms of leadership. If researchers focus on teachers as leaders in rural schools, specifically those who operate outside of traditional leadership roles, there exists a promising area of new understanding for educational leadership as …
Rural Research Brief: Math Infusion In Agricultural Education And Career And Technical Education In Rural Schools, Shawn Anderson
Rural Research Brief: Math Infusion In Agricultural Education And Career And Technical Education In Rural Schools, Shawn Anderson
The Rural Educator
No abstract provided.
Leadership Behaviors Of Superintendent/Principals In Small, Rural School Districts In Texas, Maria T. Canales, Carmen Tejada-Delgado, John R. Slate
Leadership Behaviors Of Superintendent/Principals In Small, Rural School Districts In Texas, Maria T. Canales, Carmen Tejada-Delgado, John R. Slate
The Rural Educator
In this study, 206 teachers, 35 school board presidents, and 37 superintendents/principals (n = 278) were surveyed regarding their views of effective leadership behaviors demonstrated by school leaders with dual role responsibilities through serving as both a school principal and as a superintendent in small rural school districts. Data were collected through use of the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII and the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII Self. Of the 12 leadership domains assessed through use of this measure, statistically significant differences were yielded on 6 of the 12 leadership areas: Representation; Demand Reconciliation; Tolerance of Uncertainty; Persuasiveness; …
Weighing In: Rural Iowa Principals’ Perceptions Of State-Mandated Teaching Evaluation Standards, Terri A. Lasswell, Nicholas J. Pace, Gregory A. Reed
Weighing In: Rural Iowa Principals’ Perceptions Of State-Mandated Teaching Evaluation Standards, Terri A. Lasswell, Nicholas J. Pace, Gregory A. Reed
The Rural Educator
As the accountability movement has gained momentum, policy makers and educators have strived to strike a difficult balance between the sometimes competing demands at the local, state, and federal levels. Efforts to improve accountability and teacher evaluation have taken an especially unique route in Iowa, where local control and resistance to state mandated curricular standards have been popular topics from the statehouse to the convenience store. This research explores principals’ impressions of Iowa’s state-mandated standards for best-practice teaching (as opposed to state mandated curricular standards). Further, the research examined the extent to which the Iowa Teaching Standards (ITS) and accompanying …
Rural Teachers’ Best Motivating Strategies: A Blending Of Teachers’ And Students’ Perspectives, Patricia L. Hardré, David W. Sullivan, Natasha Roberts
Rural Teachers’ Best Motivating Strategies: A Blending Of Teachers’ And Students’ Perspectives, Patricia L. Hardré, David W. Sullivan, Natasha Roberts
The Rural Educator
This paper extracts and elaborates rural secondary teachers’ most effective reported motivating strategies. From the data generated by two years of mixed method research in rural secondary schools, these strategies emerged as among the most successful. Selection of best practices was based on a synthesis of what both teachers and students reported as making the greatest positive impact on their school-related motivation. Strategies are illustrated by multiple detailed examples from teacher interviews.
Rural Community Input To School District Strategic Planning: An Action Research Model Using Focus Groups, Brent L. Winand, Carla Edlefson
Rural Community Input To School District Strategic Planning: An Action Research Model Using Focus Groups, Brent L. Winand, Carla Edlefson
The Rural Educator
A rural superintendent used action research principles in conducting a series of focus groups with community members, students, and staff. The focus group data informed strategic planning. At the end of a carefully designed process, district administrators found more agreement among residents than they had expected. Community members were grateful for the opportunity to participate, and the district’s strategic plan contained important goals that would not have been recognized without community input. Administrators believed conducting the focus groups themselves brought more benefit than if they had hired a consultant, because of the interaction with community members. The result was a …
Adolescents And Teachers As Partners In A School-Based Research Project To Increase Physical Activity Opportunities In A Rural Community, James Rye, Nancy O'Hara Tompkins, Darlene Mcclure, Jacqueline Aleshire
Adolescents And Teachers As Partners In A School-Based Research Project To Increase Physical Activity Opportunities In A Rural Community, James Rye, Nancy O'Hara Tompkins, Darlene Mcclure, Jacqueline Aleshire
The Rural Educator
Schools are an important resource in combating the physical inactivity and obesity epidemics in rural economically depressed areas. Through a University-community partnership, teachers and adolescents in a rural West Virginia county with one of the highest obesity rates in the state developed a school-based research intervention to increase physical activity opportunities. The intervention included walking routes, educational sessions, and pedometers. A survey about barriers to physical activity revealed that “lack of willpower” was a barrier of concern among program participants (mostly school employees) and had a statistically significant (p = .0033) pre to post mean score decrease during the year …
Factors Inhibiting Hispanic Parents’ School Involvement, Jay Smith, Kenneth Stern, Zhanna Shatrova
Factors Inhibiting Hispanic Parents’ School Involvement, Jay Smith, Kenneth Stern, Zhanna Shatrova
The Rural Educator
Factors inhibiting Hispanic parental involvement in non-metropolitan area schools were studied. With the mandates of No Child Left Behind intensifying the need to improve the academic achievement of all at-risk groups of students in American schools, and with the relatively new phenomenon of large numbers of Hispanics settling in non-metropolitan areas, findings of this qualitative study of fifteen Hispanic parents should be highly useful to educators working with Hispanic youth. Primary factors inhibiting Hispanic parental involvement were the following: the failure of the school to send correspondence, school calendar, lunch menus or newsletters written in Spanish; the inability of the …
A Decade’S Difference: Research Revisited On Family Influence Of Rural High School Students’ Postsecondary Decisions, Robert S. Legutko
A Decade’S Difference: Research Revisited On Family Influence Of Rural High School Students’ Postsecondary Decisions, Robert S. Legutko
The Rural Educator
This study is a quantitative descriptive research design which compared 1995 and 2005 data regarding family influence on rural Pennsylvania high school seniors’ postsecondary decisions. A chi-square analysis at p < 0.05 determined that there was (a) an increase in students planning college attendance, (b) a decrease in students not planning postsecondary education or unsure of postsecondary plans, (c) an increase in students planning college attendance who did not have parents with postsecondary schooling, (d) a decrease in students not planning postsecondary education or unsure of postsecondary plans who did not have parents with postsecondary schooling, (e) an increase in lower-middle class students planning to attend college, and (f) a decrease in lower-middle class students not planning postsecondary education or unsure of postsecondary plans. There was no significant difference in students’ postsecondary plans when siblings’ pursuit of postsecondary education was considered.
Edward W. Chance Dissertation Award: Rural Teacher Satisfaction: An Analysis Of Beliefs And Attitudes Of Rural Teachers’ Job Satisfaction, John T. Huysman
Edward W. Chance Dissertation Award: Rural Teacher Satisfaction: An Analysis Of Beliefs And Attitudes Of Rural Teachers’ Job Satisfaction, John T. Huysman
The Rural Educator
This study analyzed teachers’ beliefs and attitudes affecting job satisfaction in one small, rural Florida school district. This mixed methods study included a self-administered survey of Likert-type items measuring 20 factors for job satisfaction and individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Several issues related to dissatisfaction surfaced not presented in previous studies. Teachers often found themselves frustrated at work because of conflicting expectations concerning their professional and social roles within the community and perceived that peers or coalitions within the schools possessed undue influence and power. Of most concern to participants was the perception of being unappreciated. This perception was …
Rural Research Brief: Missouri-Iowa Science Cooperative (Science Co-Op): Rural Schools-Urban Universities Collaborative Project, James A. Shymansky, Larry D. Yore, Leonard A. Annetta, Susan A. Everett
Rural Research Brief: Missouri-Iowa Science Cooperative (Science Co-Op): Rural Schools-Urban Universities Collaborative Project, James A. Shymansky, Larry D. Yore, Leonard A. Annetta, Susan A. Everett
The Rural Educator
There is a dearth of studies in science education that are both comprehensive and focused on rural schools. Thus, this brief is in the form of a research report on the impact of an externally funded, five-year professional development project. The project involved approximately 1500 teachers on the student achievement of approximately 20,000 K-6 students in 36 small, rural Midwest school districts. - Larry G. Enochs, Research Column Editor
Can A Week Make A Difference? Changing Perceptions About Teaching And Living In Rural Alaska, T. R. Munsch, Colin R. Boylan
Can A Week Make A Difference? Changing Perceptions About Teaching And Living In Rural Alaska, T. R. Munsch, Colin R. Boylan
The Rural Educator
Many Alaskan schools are located in extremely remote or 'fly-in' places. These geographical extremes affect the recruitment and retention of teachers to remote rural schools. Through a partnership between the Southwest Region School District of Alaska and the Department of Education at Alaska Pacific University (APU), 14 pre-service teachers participated in a one-week remote rural practice teaching experience. These APU students lived and taught in village schools where indigenous Alaska Natives were the majority and whose language is Yup’ik. Through the use of pre and post experience questionnaires, the pre-service teachers’ views about rural teaching and seeking rural appointments were …
Preparing Teachers For Rural Appointments, Graeme Lock
Preparing Teachers For Rural Appointments, Graeme Lock
The Rural Educator
Education authorities continue to experience difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers in rural and remote schools. In Western Australia (WA), a state noted for its vastness and number of schools located in rural and remote settings, a scheme developed by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training (DET) and the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy aims to address this challenge by offering financial support to student teachers who wish to undertake their final practicum in a remote or rural education district in which they hope to work after graduation. The Student Teacher Rural Experience Program (STREP) assists with …