Abstract
Despite the fact that rural communities across the United States are rapidly diversifying (Fusarelli & Militello, 2012), little research has examined the beliefs and practices of successful rural educational leaders, specifically in high poverty schools and districts where traditionally marginalized students demonstrate improving learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and practices of a rural educational leader whose school or district met established study criteria for a high poverty, high performing school, in which traditionally marginalized students demonstrate increasingly productive learning outcomes. Interviews with the leader were conducted, and the data were coded and analyzed using a constant comparative method (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).The following research question guided the study:What impact do the beliefs and practices of a rural school district leader have on the learning outcomes of traditionally marginalized students in the Rocky Mountain West?The findings from this study contribute to the paucity of research on culturally responsive rural superintendent-principals. Identifying the rural leader’s beliefs and practices provides support for educational leaders who serve in that uniquely rural dual role, about which very little has been written. It informs leadership preparation programs, graduate students, researchers, and policy makers about the need for nuanced culturally responsive training for rural educational leaders.
Highlights
The findings from this study contribute to the paucity of research on culturally responsive rural superintendent-principals
The case study that follows was conducted by a graduate student-professor team and is used in our Ed.D. program to expand the thinking of our doctoral students, most of whom have worked only in urban schools
Few studies have examined the role of the rural superintendentprincipal, related to the influence of that leader on student learning outcomes
Summary
The findings from this study contribute to the paucity of research on culturally responsive rural superintendent-principals. The case study that follows was conducted by a graduate student-professor team and is used in our Ed.D. program to expand the thinking of our doctoral students, most of whom have worked only in urban schools It illuminates the need for innovation and activism as a rural leader in order to lead equitable improvement in the local school, district, and community, and provides real-world “fieldwork experience” for Ed.D. programs with a broader lens through which to develop culturally responsive school and district leadership. Rural communities across the US are rapidly diversifying racially, culturally, and linguistically (Fusarelli & Militello, 2012; Pohl, 2017), and one in six of those students lives below the poverty line Despite such data, little research has been conducted to examine the beliefs and practices of successful rural educational leaders – those in whose schools traditionally marginalized students demonstrate improving learning outcomes.
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