This book examines challenges associated with the education of teachers in and for rural places. It offers a new perspective with respect to how Canadian educators are shifting the conversation toward a hopeful discourse concerning how educators can foster meaningful rural learning environments, which will contribute to building stronger rural communities and regions. A central focus of the book is emerging reconceptualization of education, place and indigeneity in Canadian education in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Though the challenge of addressing rural teaching and learning lies partly in the nuances and complexities of unique places, there are also common threads that affect virtually all communities in rural, regional and remote educational, cultural, economic, and social geographies. Chapters in this collection provide current research in Canadian rural education including examples and stories from the field – contributed by teachers, administrators, and superintendents – on the challenges and creative opportunities that they have discovered in their own rural context, giving hope and inspiration for what is possible. The book will appeal to all readers interested in rural education and teacher education, as well as to those concerned with educational inequality and indigenous education.
This teacher education textbook invites preservice and beginning teachers to think critically about the impact of rurality on their work and provides an overview of what it means to live, teach, learn, and thrive in rural communities. This book underscores the importance of teaching in rural schools as an act of social justice—work that dismantles spatial barriers to economic, social, and political justice. Teaching in Rural Places begins with a foundational section that addresses the importance of thinking about rural education in the U.S. as an educational environment with particular challenges and opportunities. The subsequent chapters address rural teaching within concentric circles of focus—from communities to schools to classrooms. Chapters provide concrete strategies for understanding rural communities, valuing rural ways of being, and teaching in diverse rural schools by addressing topics such as working with families, building professional networks, addressing trauma, teaching in multi-grade classrooms, and planning place-conscious instruction. The first of its kind, this comprehensive textbook for rural teacher education is targeted toward preservice and beginning teachers in traditional and alternative teacher education programs as well as new rural teachers participating in induction and mentoring programs. Teaching in Rural Places will help ensure that rural students have the well-prepared teachers they deserve.
The purpose of this book is to highlight the work of teacher educators in the field of rural education. In this book, education faculty who work in teacher education study the ways in which one’s identity impacts one’s teaching and the partnerships with rural schools. Although the field of research on teacher preparation has an abundance of studies on preparing students for the challenges of urban settings, there is much less emphasis on rural education, despite the prevalence of rural schools. This book problematises notions of rural or rurality which is often considered via a deficit or a generalised model where a stereotype of one kind of rural is outlined. Developing more multi-faceted understandings of rurality is a key to attracting and retaining teachers who understand the complexities and opportunities of living and working in rural spaces.
This book brings together authors from United States, South Africa, United Kingdom, China, Canada and Australia to provide insights and case studies from across a range of contexts to explore the interplay between the notions of rurality, innovation and education. The book reveals a hopeful and resilient approach to innovative rural education and scholarship collectively and provides important evidence to speak against an often deficit view of rural education. Three patterns are revealed, namely: the importance of place-attentive strategies, the importance of joined up alliances to maximise resources and networks and finally, the need to utilize alternative methodologies and frameworks that have a starting point of difference rather than deficit for any rural initiative or approach. By drawing from international examples and responding in innovative ways to rural education challenges, this book provides an opportunity to share international insights into innovations, interventions and partnerships that promote and support rural education in its broadest sense.
"A collection of essays examining the various social, cultural, and economic intersections of rural place and global space, as viewed through the lens of education. Explores practices that offer both problems and possibilities for the future of rural schools and communities, in the United States and abroad"--Provided by publisher.
The impetus behind this volume stems from reflections on commemorations of the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. Brown turned 60 in May of 2014, and many special issues of peer?reviewed journals were dedicated to that anniversary. Unlike most special issues and volumes, we sought to highlight a smaller part of Brown, though no less significant. More specifically, we thought to develop a volume that focused on rural education in the aftermath of the decision. Most of the education policy and education reform literature caters to urban and suburban contexts, and very few academic books and journal articles—with the exception of research conducted by Craig, Amy, and Caitlin Howley and the Journal for Research on Rural Education—focus on rural education in the US. Thus, we wanted this volume to focus on the politics of educational opportunity in rural contexts. There is a paucity of rigorous research that examines how education policy affects the conditions of rural education. More specifically, research is scarce in examining the ways in which students in rural schools and districts have access to educational opportunities, although approximately one?third of all public schools are located in rural areas (Ayers, 2011). Educational opportunity in rural districts has been plagued by geographic isolation, loss of economic bases, and lack of capital (both financial and political) to voice the need for resources. To be clear, this volume does not present chapters that detail educational opportunity in rural districts and schools from a deficit perspective. Instead, chapters in this volume offer insight into both micro? and macro?level policies and practices that shape educational opportunities for students in rural schools and districts. As such, chapters in this volume investigate the “now” of educational opportunity for rural students and makes recommendations and suggestions for “later”. Given that, we are reminded of James Coleman’s (1975) thesis, “Education is a means to an end, and equal opportunity refers to later in life rather than the educational process itself” (p.28). This book will be organized into two distinct sections. The first section, comprised of chapters that examine educational opportunity in rural districts from a micro?level perspective, is devoted to chapters that broadly examine the implications of state and federal policy on educational opportunity in rural schools and districts. The second section, which includes case studies of rural districts in the American South, Appalachia, and the Northeast, takes a macro?level approach to examining educational opportunity in rural districts. Combined, chapters throughout the book provide readers with both an overview and a specific snapshot of educational opportunity in rural schools. Given the breadth and scope of chapters included in this volume, we believe the book adds tremendously to the education policy literature, as this vantage point has rarely been included in larger education policy discussions.
Showcasing the voices, perspectives, and experiences of rural English teachers and students, Teaching English in Rural Communities promotes equity, diversity, and inclusivity within rural education. Specifically, this book develops a Critical Rural English Pedagogy (CREP), which draws attention to issues of power, representation, and justice related to rurality. Based on the assumption that “rurality” is a social construct, CREP critiques deficit-laden stereotypes and renderings of rural places and people that circulate in media, popular discourse, and even education at times. In doing so, CREP opens up possibilities for educators and students to use the English classroom as a space to better understand the complex issues they face as rural people and ways to promote more nuanced and comprehensive representations of rurality. In particular, this book highlights English rural classrooms whereby students examine representations of rurality in literary and media texts; decenter dominant settler-colonist narratives of rural spaces, places, and people; develop understandings of Indigenous perspectives and cultural practices, particularly related to land stewardship; and engage in local outreach to promote inclusivity within rural communities. This book also gives special attention to ways race and racism may factor into literacy education in rural contexts and possibilities for rural educators to attend to these issues.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teacher preparation programs modified their practices to fit the delivery modes of school districts while developing new ways to prepare candidates. Governmental agencies established new guidelines to fit the drastic shift in education caused by the pandemic, and P-12 school systems made accommodations to support teacher education candidates. The pandemic disrupted all established systems and norms; however, many practices and strategies emerged in educator preparation programs that will have a lasting positive impact on P-20 education and teacher education practices. Such practices include the reevaluation of schooling practices with shifts in engagement strategies, instructional approaches, technology utilization, and supporting students and their families. Redefining Teacher Education and Teacher Preparation Programs in the Post-COVID-19 Era provides relevant, innovative practices implemented across teacher education programs and P-20 settings, including delivery models; training procedures; theoretical frameworks; district policies and guidelines; state, national, and international standards; digital design and delivery of content; and the latest empirical research findings on the state of teacher education preparation. The book showcases best practices used to shape and redefine teacher education through the COVID-19 pandemic. Covering topics such as online teaching practices, simulated teaching experiences, and emotional learning, this text is essential for preservice professionals, paraprofessionals, administrators, P-12 faculty, education preparation program designers, principals, superintendents, researchers, students, and academicians.
We have entitled the fourth book in the series Rural School Turnaround and Reform: It’s Hard Work! Overall, the body of scholarly work and research that examines school turnaround and reform in rural areas is slim; as such, this volume adds to the body of work and contributes to new knowledge in a much-needed area. In this volume, we present chapters that speak to the challenges, successes, and opportunities to improve low-performing rural schools. Chapters range from conceptual arguments to policy analyses or research findings, as well as some combination of these or other ways to consider rural school turnaround and reform.
Teacher education is an evolving field with multiple pathways towards teacher certification. Due to an increasing emphasis on the benefits of field-based learning, teachers can now take alternative certification pathways to become teachers. The Handbook of Research on Field-Based Teacher Education is a pivotal reference source that combines field-based components with traditional programs, creating clinical experiences and “on-the-job” learning opportunities to further enrich teacher education. While highlighting topics such as certification design, preparation programs, and residency models, this publication explores theories of teaching and learning through collaborative efforts in pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 settings. This book is ideally designed for teacher education practitioners and researchers invested in the policies and practices of educational design.
