Technology storylines: A narrative analysis of the rural education research

Eizabeth S Wargo,Jeff Simmons

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v42i2.1240

Abstract

This piece offers a systematic review of rural (P-12) education technology literature. Drawing upon a social change frame (Ogburn, 1922), current rural education technology research within the subfield is collected, examined, and synthesized. Findings explicate that methodological diversity is a strength; however, some populations (e.g., middle school teachers) have thicker coverage than others (e.g., high school students). Additionally, many studies lean on rhetorical structures about what could and should be happening in rural schools, rarely delving into the how’s and whys associated with actual technology use in rural contexts. The piece concludes with a call for scholarship which assists in shifting power structures to support rural schools in their efforts to work with technology for the betterment of rural students and communities in place.

Highlights

As the National Association of Rural Education (NREA) points out: Rural areas have been slow to benefit-in-full from the technological advancements and many lack access to sufficient bandwidth to support whole-school online access simultaneously
One of the ten research priorities set by the 20162021 NREA is technology integration that benefits rural schools; little synthesis of research associated with this priority exists (Bruwelheide, 1984; Hannum, 2007; Howley & Howley, 2009; Vasquez & Serianni, 2012 being exceptions; none of these studies were limited to rural settings)
Using an epistemic reflexivity paradigm, drawing on ethnographic content analysis (Altheide, 1987), this review focused on peer-reviewed, published studies about education technology in U.S P-12 rural education

Summary

Introduction

One of the ten research priorities set by the 20162021 NREA is technology integration that benefits rural schools; little synthesis of research associated with this priority exists (Bruwelheide, 1984; Hannum, 2007; Howley & Howley, 2009; Vasquez & Serianni, 2012 being exceptions; none of these studies were limited to rural settings). This void is not surprising given synthesis of dispersed rural education research findings is scarce in general. By asking questions two and three, attention is paid to participant demographics, research approaches, and theoretical paradigms using the notion of de Certeau’s (1984) “expanses of silence” which serves to assist inquiry given “digital technologies are entwined deeply with the politics of contemporary education” and far from a “...benign, neutral presence in education” (Selwyn, 2015, p.248)

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion