Multidisciplinary Perspectives to Advance Rural Education Research

Abstract

This chapter focuses on perspectives and recommendations of rural education researchers, practitioners, and policy makers about the critical role of research in rural education, the current condition of rural education research, and future directions. These perspectives were obtained from focused discussions of participants attending Connect-Inform-Advance, a National Conference on Rural Education Research held in April 2013 and sponsored by the National Center for Research on Rural Education. In order to capture the depth of these discussions, extensive notes were taken and analyzed qualitatively to glean insight into key considerations for future rural education research agendas. Results from the analysis resulted in four major themes: (a) defining and accounting for the rural context and culture, (b) identifying rural influences on student outcomes, (c) engaging in interdisciplinary and multidirectional research partnerships, and (d) disseminating rural research results and determining future targets.