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From headlines to documentaries, urban schools are at the center of current debates about education. From these accounts, one would never know that 51 million Americans live in rural communities and depend on their public schools to meet not only educational but also social and economic needs. For many communities, these schools are the ties that bind. Why Rural Schools Matter shares the untold story of rural education. Drawing upon extensive research in two southern towns, Mara Tieken exposes the complicated ways in which schools shape the racial dynamics of their towns and sustain the communities that surround them. The growing power of the state, however, brings the threat of rural school closure, which jeopardizes the education of children and the future of communities. With a nuanced understanding of the complicated relationship between communities and schools, Tieken warns us that current education policies--which narrow schools' purpose to academic achievement alone--endanger rural America and undermine the potential of a school, whether rural or urban, to sustain a community. Vividly demonstrating the effects of constricted definitions of public education in an era of economic turmoil and widening inequality, Tieken calls for a more contextual approach to education policymaking, involving both state and community.
Reimagining Rural: Urbanormative Portrayals of Rural Life examines the ways in which rural people and places are being portrayed by popular television, reality television, film, literature, and news media in the United States. It is also an examination of the social processes that reinforce urbanormative standards that normalize urban life and render rural life as something unusual, exotic, or deviant. This includes exploring the role of the media as agenda setting agent, informing people what and how to think about rural life. Further it includes scrutinizing the institution of formal education that promotes a homogenous urban-oriented curriculum, while in the process, marginalizing the unique characteristics of local rural communities. These contributions are some of the only studies of their kind, investigating popular cultural representations of rural life, while providing powerful evidence and unique challenges for an urban society to rethink and reimagine rural life, while confronting the many stereotypes and myths that exist.
Reinventing Rural is a collection of original research papers that examine the ways in which rural people and places are changing in the context of an urbanizing world. This includes exploring the role of the environment, the economy, and related issues such as tourism. While traditionally relying on primary sector work in agriculture, mining, natural resources, and the like, rural areas are finding new ways to sustain themselves. This involves a new emphasis on environmental protection, as one important strategy has been to capitalize on natural amenities to attract residents and tourists. Beyond improvements to the economy are general improvements to the quality-of-life in rural communities. Consistent with this, the volume focuses on the two cornerstones of education and health, considering current challenges and offering ideas for reinventing rural quality-of-life.
This volume represents current and futuristic thinking of seminal rural education researchers, with the goal of providing perspectives and directions to inform the work of rural education research, practice, and policy. With an emphasis on leveraging collaboration among key rural education stakeholders, this title both outlines our current research knowledge base and maps a future research agenda for maximizing the educational experiences and achievement of rural K-12 students and their families and educators in the United States. In examining the interrelated impacts of teacher practices, family engagement, school/community environment and contextual factors, the book offers the evidence-based insights of seminal researchers on issues ranging from professional development and family-school partnership approaches to methodological considerations. It also explores the needs, opportunities and realities associated with translating research to the arenas of practice and policy – while considering how the latter can inform future scholarship.
This book is an authoritative examination of summer learning loss, featuring original contributions by scholars and practitioners at the forefront of the movement to understand—and stem—the “summer slide.” The contributors provide an up-to-date account of what research has to say about summer learning loss, the conditions in low-income children’s homes and communities that impede learning over the summer months, and best practices in summer programming with lessons on how to strengthen program evaluations. The authors also show how information on program costs can be combined with student outcome data to inform future planning and establish program cost-effectiveness. This book will help policymakers, school administrators, and teachers in their efforts to close academic achievement gaps and improve outcomes for all students. Book Features: Empirical research on summer learning loss and efforts to counteract it. Original contributions by leading authorities. Practical guidance on best practices for implementing and evaluating strong summer programs. Recommendations for using program evaluations more effectively to inform policy. Contributors: Emily Ackman, Allison Atteberry, Catherine Augustine, Janice Aurini, Amy Bohnert, Geoffrey D. Borman, Claudia Buchmann, Judy B. Cheatham, Barbara Condliffe, Dennis J. Condron, Scott Davies, Douglas Downey, Ean Fonseca, Linda Goetze, Kathryn Grant, Amy Heard, Michelle K. Hosp, James S. Kim, Heather Marshall, Jennifer McCombs, Andrew McEachin, Dorothy McLeod, Joseph J. Merry, Emily Milne, Aaron M. Pallas, Sarah Pitcock, Alex Schmidt, Marc L. Stein, Paul von Hippel, Thomas G. White, Doris Terry Williams, Nicole Zarrett “A comprehensive look at what’s known about summer’s impact on learning and achievement. It is a wake-up call to policymakers and educators alike” —Jane Stoddard Williams, Chair, Horizons National “Provides the reader with everything they didn’t know about summer learning loss and also provides information on everything we do know about eliminating summer learning loss. Do your school a favor and read this book and then act upon what you have learned.” —Richard Allington, University of Tennessee
Communities in rural America are a complex mixture of peoples and cultures, ranging from miners who have been laid off in West Virginia, to Laotian immigrants relocating in Kansas to work at a beef processing plant, to entrepreneurs drawing up plans for a world-class ski resort in California's Sierra Nevada. Rural Communities: Legacy and Change uses its unique Community Capitals framework to examine how America's diverse rural communities use their various capitals (natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built) to address the modern challenges that face them. Each chapter opens with a case study of a community facing a particular challenge, and is followed by a comprehensive discussion of sociological concepts to be applied to understanding the case. This narrative, topical approach makes the book accessible and engaging for undergraduate students, while its integrative approach provides them with a framework for understanding rural society based on the concepts and explanations of social science. This fifth edition is updated throughout with 2013 census data and features new and expanded coverage of health and health care, food systems and alternatives, the effects of neoliberalism and globalization on rural communities, as well as an expanded resource and activity section at the end of each chapter.
This powerful and honest book uncovers how we can flip the system, building a more democratic, equitable, and cohesive society where teacher expertise drives solutions to education challenges. Editor Michael Soskil brings together a team of diverse voices to highlight solutions, spark positive change, and show us the path forward towards a more civil and more peaceful America. In each chapter, inspiring educators describe how we can create lasting and meaningful change by elevating teacher expertise; educating the whole child; increasing teacher morale; and fighting for all of our children to have equitable opportunity and quality schools.
Rural Turnaround Leadership Development: The Power of Partnerships focuses on a three- year rural turnaround leadership project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was designed to foster the development of a cohort of aspiring school leaders in rural high poverty/low performing K-12 school districts. The Alabama Project was selected by the U.S. Department of Education, in part, because it was the only submission which emphasized partnership between higher education institutions, school districts and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE). Facets of the book include a treatment of the structures and processes each university created to develop their unique program, the distinctive turnaround curriculum used at each university, the role of mentoring in developing aspiring rural school leaders and the internship experiences and practices which supported aspiring leader development. One of the most powerful changes witnessed during the project was the development of aspiring leaders by the major and ancillary partners. The cross-connections between K-12 districts, the ALSDE, and the three university educational leadership programs was a multifaceted and multi-layered collaborative approach. The partnerships not only strengthened within each master’s program, but across agencies as a result of this project. The book will describe the value of partnership and leadership development through the eyes of the major contributors. The contributors or authors of the book will include the Alabama State Department of Education, the three educational leadership higher education institutions i.e. Auburn University, University of Alabama and Samford University, partner school district representatives and graduates of the program.
In the twenty-first century, learning and the definition of education is changing. New digital, online, and social tools have the ability to transform the classroom and engage learners like never before. In the midst of this technological revolution, it is crucial for educators and administrators to be able to gauge the impact of digital tools on learners in a variety of settings. The Handbook of Research on Positive Scholarship for Global K-20 Education is a critical scholarly resource that examines the collaboration of education and technology within disciplinary fields. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as experiential education, improvisational learning, and andragogy, this publication is geared towards academicians, practitioners, and researchers seeking current research on all areas of education and e-learning.
Strategic leadership techniques are the cornerstone to positive growth and prosperity within businesses and organizations. Implementing new management strategies and practices helps to ensure managers are optimizing their resources and driving innovation. The Encyclopedia of Strategic Leadership and Management investigates emergent administrative techniques and business practices being utilized within corporate and educational settings. Highlighting empirical research and best practices within the field, this encyclopedia will be an authoritative reference source for students, researchers, faculty, librarians, managers, and leaders across various disciplines and cultures.