Rural Education and Election Candidates: Three Questions (original) (raw)

Rural Educator Policy Brief: Rural Education and the Every Student Succeeds Act

The Rural Educator, 2018

Rural education is becoming an increasing focus of federal education legislation. The Every Student Succeeds Act explicitly addresses rural education through the REAP program, by taking steps to ensure geographic distribution in competitive grants, by requiring states to consider rural LEAs in the development of state plans, and in many other ways. The mandated report on rural education is intended to provide data about whether these provisions are sufficient for ensuring that federal policy and funding address the needs of rural schools and students and its impact remains to be seen.

Improving Rural Education: Past Efforts, Some Ideas for the Future

1979

Four different assumptions about the nature of rural, education govern major strategies to reform its defiiencies;. rural. , 'education is a problem because it, is not urban ; some small iSolited , schools are "necessarily existentfly small' schlols are desirable lecan g. oCflexibility and responsivene.Ss; and educatiohal problems are indeNbendent-of school size. An effeativeneSs study of 14 currently used .U.S. rural eduCation refori strategies reveals that ! * .

About The Rural Educator

The Rural Educator

Cover, editorial board, submission guidelines, table of contents, and message from editor Heather E. Duncan.

Policy Study for Rural Vocational and Adult Education

1980

A study examined the vocational and adult education system in isolated rural areas. The study included a review of literature, legislation, and exemplary programs, and conducted interviews with community leaders in twenty isolated, rural counties. Unstructured telephone interviews with representatives of the business, civic, and education sectors, supplemented by printed documents, resulted in the identification of problems facing vocational and adult education in rural areas. These included a lack cf jobs, funding, and transportation: sparse populations: difficulties with teacher recruitment and retention; inadequate counseling and guidance services: lack of grantsmanship abilities: inaccessibility of services: student characteristics; and legislative mandates-The study revealed the importance of preserving the autonomy of the rural community, simplifying funding applications, and changing funding formulas. Nine priority areas relating to economic development, teacher training, linkages, access to education, supplementary services, and the needs of special populations were identified. Six policy implications were derived. These included providing technical assistance and federal funds for rural vocational and adult education, sponsoring research responsive to priority areas, establishing an office of rural education as a linking agency with federal agencies, and encouraging state departments of education to re-evaluate their rural programs. (MN)

Where Has All the "Rural" Gone?: Rural Education Research and Current Federal Reform

Journal of Research in Rural Education, 2000

Rural education research has been misunderstood, underfunded, and discouraged, and the resulting collection of work has suffered for it, according to many observers. Various studies-notably, analyses by the U.S. Department of Education itself-identify significant deficiencies in the national body of research on rural schools. Now the federal apparatus for funding educational research is under intense scrutiny and targeted for reform, with proposals expected from both Congress and the Department of Education. The Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is the principal source of federal aid for educational research. OERI's research program has been criticized for its lack of definition, lack of coordination among its Regional Educational Laboratories and Research and Development Centers, and inadequate dissemination of useable information to schools. While changes to OERI are expected, it remains questionable whether they will address the research needs of rural communities and schools. Instead, information gatherers are increasingly being directed toward "problem-centered" research with the broadest possible applications, effectively consolidating research and abandoning responsibility for rural and other "targeted" populations. This paper discusses common deficiencies in rural education research, some causes for these deficiencies, OERI contributions to rural research (and lack of follow-up), and suggestions for rural advocates. (Contains 25 references.) (SV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Toward a Rural Philosophy of Education

2022

This essay calls for the development of a rural philosophy of education and outlines considerations toward that end. Questioning the applicability of current school reform initiatives to rural education, the essay draws on the work of rural philosopher Wendell Berry, educational historian Paul Theobald, and other rural scholars to outline considerations for the development of such an education philosophy. Education policy issues, rural history, and current economic, political, and cultural challenges are presented. Differences, strengths, and needs of rural education are highlighted as considerations that must be addressed in the formation of a philosophy of rural education.