Defining and Describing Rural: Implications for Rural Special Education Research and Policy

Abstract

A critical aspect of rural research is carefully defining and describing the rural context. This is particularly important in rural special education research because different definitions of rural may influence resource allocation, grant funding eligibility, and/or research findings. In order to highlight the importance of operationalizing rural, we discuss the challenges of defining rural, provide descriptions of commonly used definitions to familiarize readers with standardized coding schemes, and summarize an empirical example demonstrating the implications different definitions can have on rural special education research and policy. We conclude by providing recommendations for both producers and consumers of research.

How Rurality Affects Students’ Higher Education Access in Kazakhstan

“…Research suggests that poverty, geographic isolation, and a lack of resources are among the most salient challenges for rural students' academic and career success (Agger et al, 2018;Arnold, Newman, Gaddy, & Dean, 2005;Byun et al, 2012;Bright, 2018;Semke & Sheridan, 2012). However, rural areas are often neglected in politics and academia, isolated from resources, and coping with increasing economic and social problems on their own (Hawley et al, 2016). Moreover, rural people often feel marginalized by society (Kreiss, Barker, & Zenner, 2017) as the public focuses more on the needs of select underserved population not their own (Walsh, 2012).…”

Take Care When Cutting

“…Our study illustrates the drawback inherent in the common practice of education researchers insufficiently describing rurality and remotenessdistinct and overlapping school characteristics that are integral to understanding place. Given vast inconsistencies in how researchers define (or fail to define) school locales, our study exemplifies how poor descriptions of place can confound researchdependent policies (Hawley et al, 2016). A fieldlevel absence of consistency and consensus in operationalizing locale (Thier & Beach, 2019) has reified deficits that are especially salient for rural areas (Kettler et al, 2016), which were home to 19% of the U.S. population but covered 95% of this country's land area, according to data from the most recently completed U.S. Census (2010).…”

“…By including footnotes or methods sections that detail what a study's locale bins contain, researchers can make crucial advancements. Geographic locale definitions, particularly around rurality and remoteness, require methodological and interpretive care (Hawley et al, 2016). In the absence of broad consensus regarding the role and definition of rurality and/or remoteness, Box's (1976) admonishment will continue to describe most research on schools: all models will be wrong, though some might be useful.…”

The Impact Of Village Funds On Enhanching Welfare Of North Maluku Communities Using Falah Approach

“…B. THEORITICAL Villages, rural or hamlets have been known for a long time and have undergone various changes, starting from the period before the Dutch occupation until now (Anonymous: 1891). Conceptually, there are actually difficulties in defining villages, because villages terminology difficult to describe because of the many variables used to describe them (Hawley: 2016). But sociologically, it can be said that the village is a unity of people who live in an area where the people have almost the same style that is dependent on nature, simple, know each other, have close social ties and strong traditions (Jamaluddin: 2015).…”