Definitional Issues of Rural Settings in Special Education Research

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There is currently no universally adopted definition of rural either by government entities or by rural special education researchers. Yet, the replicability, generalizability, transferability, and validity of rural special education research is dependent upon the definition of rural researchers’ use to situate their work. Examining the terminology used to describe rural settings can help identify for whom and in which contexts study results may be relevant when making policy and practice decisions. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine current definitions of rural used in rural special education research. Thirty-five empirical articles published from 2020 through 2024 were examined for their rural definitions and the locale characteristics used to describe rural settings. Results indicated that a majority of authors of included studies did not use any formal definition of rural to classify their study setting. Recommendations are provided on ways to define rural and describe study setting characteristics.