The article examines the problems of modern Russian education related to the formation of the ethno-cultural identity of students, defines a model for the formation of the ethno-cultural identity of students in rural schools in the process of project activities. A theoretical analysis of the concept of ethno-cultural identity is carried out, a comparative characteristic of such categories as national identity, social identity, ethnic identity, socio-cultural identity and ethno-cultural identity. The structure of the phenomenon of ethnocultural identity is determined, in which value-oriented, cognitive, emotional-evaluative and behavioral components are distinguished. The article analyzes the mass experience of the formation of ethnocultural identity among children and youth, which at this stage of the development of pedagogical practice is characterized by the lack of systematic activities aimed at the formation of ethnocultural identity of students in institutions of basic and additional education, as well as fragmentation. A model of the formation of the ethno-cultural identity of rural school students in the process of project activity is proposed and the main substantive stages of its implementation are determined.