Differing Circumstances, Shared Challenges: Finding Common Ground between Urban and Rural Schools

Abstract

ICK UP ANY newspaper and you can read about urban school problems and the ongoing debate about education policy and reform. While urban schools certainly face critical challenges, rural schools face many of these same concerns. Yet we seldom hear about problems in rural schools. Perhaps we hear more about urban education because most major media outlets are located in cities, or because high popu

Relation of Opportunity to Learn Advanced Math to the Educational Attainment of Rural Youth

“…This includes, for example, culture, occupational opportunities, geographic isolation, and population density (Coladarci 2007; Fan and Chen 1999; Howley et al 2005; Provasnik et al 2007; Strange et al 2012). Furthermore, ELS:2002 data do not include alternative measures of location that rural researchers have espoused (e.g., Brown and Schafft 2011; Howley 1997; Theobald 2005; Truscott and Truscott 2005). Nonetheless, the NCES locale code trichotomy provides one broad measure with which to begin to examine overall main effect relations associated with rurality that has been used in previous research and future work can build upon.…”

“…Operationalizing rurality is a challenge and many measures have been espoused (e.g., Brown and Schafft 2011; Coladarci 2007; Howley 1997; Theobald 2005; Truscott and Truscott 2005). In addition, there are concerns with formal classification schemes such as the NCES locale codes.…”

Rural-Nonrural Disparities in Postsecondary Educational Attainment Revisited

“…This data limitation has always been the case for research relying on the national database created by the NCES (Coladarci, 2007). Several rural researchers (e.g., Brown & Schafft, 2011; Howley, 1997; Theobald, 2005; Truscott & Truscott, 2005) have called for alternative views on the definition of rurality. The traditional classification schemes of schools based on their geographic position (especially rural vs. urban dichotomy) only minimally address the critical educational challenges of postsecondary educational attainment for rural and urban youth.…”

Improving Beginning Teacher Induction Programs through Distance Education

“…Beginning teacher attrition can affect all schools. However, schools located in urban and rural areas experience higher rates of teacher attrition due to the special conditions that accompany teaching in these locations (MetLife Foundation, 2007;Truscott & Truscott, 2005). Additionally, certain personality and learning types may be more resistant to change (Overbay, Patterson, & Grable, 2009).…”

“…Second, although most beginning teachers receive some type of formal induction (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004), much variation exists in the type of support received, the amount of support received, the method in which the support is received, and generally, the support structure itself (Bartlett & Johnson, 2010;Bickmore & Bickmore, 2010;Ingersoll & Smith, 2004;Wiebke & Bardin, 2009;Wong, 2004). For example, schools located in rural and urban areas generally face limited resources and experience staffing difficulties (Truscott & Truscott, 2005). Likely, these difficulties also affect the level of support such schools can provide to beginning teachers.…”