Rural School Leaders Research Articles

Trauma-Competent Approaches for Supporting Rural Students of Color

Rurality is a context, often overlooked by research and society, where trauma exposure is a prevalent feature in many young people’s lives. Rural Students of Color experience trauma at higher rates compared to rural White students. In turn, school systems must respond with trauma-competent systems of support to build protective factors for students. The purpose of this article is to discuss the history and modern trauma-informed practices and ways to begin shifting our mindset and language to better support rural Students of Color by understanding the historical and present contexts and trauma that influence their experiences. Furthermore, this article will highlight the needs of Students of Color in rural spaces as well as applications for trauma-competency within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) model. Strategies for building connectedness and implementing anti-racist social-emotional learning will be identified. Additionally, implications for rural school leaders, school counselors, and school-based mental health professionals, and further research will be discussed.

Dual Language Program Leadership in High Needs Rural School Districts

One of the most pressing challenges confronting change-agent leaders in rural school districts in the United States is how to provide well designed instructional programs to meet the biliteracy academic development needs of emergent bilingual learners. This article examines how one language arts teacher / dual language coordinator and her instructional improvement team colleagues working in a high needs rural middle school leveraged design research thinking and intervention development strategies to: 1) engage in intensive data teaming to investigate the root causes of the persistent learning performance gaps of emergent bilingual students on their rural campus; and 2) develop and implement a design-based professional development intervention program for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade core content teachers to refocus teachers’ individual and collective pedagogical perspectives regarding the perceived learning capabilities of emergent bilingual students and reinvigorate their team-centered interdisciplinary planning and classroom teaching practices. Change-agent leadership insights derived from an analysis of collective intervention design and implementation efforts completed by the instructional improvement team are presented and discussed within two areas: 1) leading instructional improvement initiatives in high needs rural school districts; and 2) leveraging immersive professional development to build core content teachers’ dual language instructional teaming capacities. Finally, a set of design principles derived from the case study is presented that may be of practical use to rural school leaders interested in exploring the potential of design-based intervention methods to address the dual language programming needs of biliteracy learners.

Elevating Local Knowledge in Curriculum, Conversation and Community

In a time of fraying community and interpersonal relationships, rural school and community leaders are in search of research-based approaches to strengthen connections and sustain relationships among their students and community members. This article reports the findings from two studies (Moore, 2023; Weikert, 2022) documenting how and why, during the height of the pandemic, rural leaders from a community museum and local school came together to use local history and knowledge to design a museum exhibit and a K-12 curriculum about the pandemic and vaccines. The article describes the museum’s place-conscious development process of the exhibit titled, Shots Felt Round the World: Dr. Maurice Hilleman and the Montana Origins of the Fight Against Pandemics to invite visitors to view the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine development through local histories of infectious disease and healthcare. The article also describes how a curriculum for students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) titled, Hilleman & Vaccines: Connecting Culture to Scientific Curiosity was created in tandem with the exhibition by the museum’s Teacher Advisory Council to connect students to local history and knowledge to promote student learning through the integration of math, science, history, and critical thinking. Findings reveal that while the subject of vaccines is politically charged, the emphasis on local history and knowledge allowed both museum and K-12 audiences to find common ground, learn about the subject through a local lens, and strengthen school and community-school connections. The article concludes with recommendations for how rural schools and communities can use local knowledge to contribute to cross-community connections and vitality.

Why They Kept Committed: Emotional Drives of Rotating Teachers in the Context of Teacher Rotation Policy in China

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine China’s teacher rotation policies, which are intended to narrow the urban-rural teacher quality gap. A qualitative approach is used to explore the emotional drives of eight teachers who participated in teacher rotation in Y District, Beijing. This study applies Archer’s social theory of emotion, which establishes a link between personal concerns and emotional commentaries. Data reveals four emotional drives or concerns: embodying sender schools, reciprocity with rural school leaders, rapport with colleagues, and conscience towards students. Conscience is viewed as the primary drive for rotating teachers to focus their efforts on teaching and learning in order to avoid shame. Relationships with sender schools, rural school leaders, and colleagues all have an effect on rotating teachers’ hybrid self-identity as insiders/outsiders of two social circles, engendering a range of emotions. This study emphasizes the importance of making sense of the emotional structures and dynamics of rotating teachers. Finally, the implications of improving the efficacy of teacher rotation are discussed.

Will They Stay or Will They Go? Leadership Behaviors That Increase Teacher Retention in Rural Schools

Hard-to-staff rural schools often struggle to attract and retain promising educators. Experts have consistently identified administrative support in rural schools to be of unique importance for recruitment and retention, yet a lack of clarity continues to surround the specific leadership behaviors that new teachers interpret as supportive. This qualitative study collected data from three focus groups; including superintendents, principals, and teachers in a program for aspiring administrators; and found that rural schools have to try much harder and in more active ways to retain new teachers because of the constraints existing within rural education. Rural school support for new teachers needs to be a collective responsibility to positively impact the retention of new teachers and the structural supports, affirmation, and encouragement offered by their organizations help to heighten the retention of new teachers. The study confirms that rural school leaders can leverage leadership behaviors to better retain talented teachers.

Relatively Good News Amid Covid-19

This study examined publicly available data from The Institution of Education Sciences (IES) survey of school leaders concerning modes of instructions offered and subgroups prioritized during the Covid-19 pandemic. We asked: Do national data regarding instructional modes (i.e., remote, hybrid, and in-person) during the Covid-19 pandemic reveal different approaches of U.S. elementary and secondary schools in rural areas versus peer institutions in cities, suburbs, and towns? Our analysis showed that schools in rural areas are more readily and equitably offering in-person instruction than schools in suburbs and cities, particularly in regard to students of color. Additionally, we found that rural school leaders report prioritizing English learners, students with identified disabilities, students experiencing homelessness and students without home internet access at higher rates that their peers in urban and suburban schools.

Evidence-Based Leadership Preparation Program Practices: From the Perceptions of Georgia Rural School Leaders

Evidence-Based Leadership Preparation Program Practices: From the Perceptions of Georgia Rural School Leaders

High School Sport Participation Intensity and Breadth

The purpose of this study was to address the gap in research related to whether measures of participation (intensity and breadth) demonstrated a relationship with academic achievement for 11th grade student athletes (N=128) in a rural Midwestern high school. Anonymous athletic participation and achievement data from 2015-2017 was obtained from the school’s archive and analyzed by correlation, hierarchical regression, and one-way ANOVA. Data derived from statistical analyses demonstrated two outcomes regarding sport participation, ACT, and GPA: (a) Intensity demonstrated no statistical significance to student achievement measured by ACT, however intensity demonstrated a statistically significant relationship to cumulative GPA (p < .05), and (b) ANOVA analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences in breadth and GPA (p < .01) between one sport athletes and three sport athletes. Three sport athletes had statistically significantly higher GPAs than one sport athletes and significantly higher GPAs than two sport athletes. The research was limited to one cross-sectional heterogeneous rural high school population of participants over a three-year period. Furthermore, the study was limited to school-specific athletic participation data as school non-athletic activity and out-of-school activity participation was not available. Results from this study suggest programming and potential practice recommendations for rural school leaders. Future research on ESA sport, activity, and non-school activity participation intensity and breadth related to academic outcomes is justified.

Coaching, professional community, and continuous improvement: rural school leader and coach development in a research-practice partnership

ABSTRACT The increased need for effective school leadership development, especially in rural and high-needs schools, has led to an increase in research-practice partnerships between districts and universities. Yet, there is a need for systematic analysis of the outcomes of such partnerships. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of a leadership development initiative on 16 school leaders and eight leadership coaches and their leadership and leadership coaching practices. The initiative, the Leadership Learning Community (LLC), was created through a research-practice partnership between a consortium of 12 predominantly rural, high-poverty school districts and two universities to meet the districts’ leadership development needs. The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of rural school districts partnering with other districts and universities to provide cross-district leadership development through facilitated professional communities and job-embedded coaching to develop rural school leaders and coaches able to lead continuous school improvement efforts.

Closing the school attendance gap in rural communities in Nigeria: school leadership and multi-actor approach in community engagement

The purpose of this paper is to make a case for school leaders in rural schools in Nigeria to build effective engagements with their communities in improving school attendance rate. The state of rural education in Nigeria has been a concern going by the fact that rural communities have the highest number of school dropouts and illiterate people. No country can make headway with a large army of illiterates and school dropouts because education is regarded as an instrument for national transformation. A good number of rural students do not show commitment towards attendance. While the government is often looked upon to address this issue, there seems to be limited focus on rural schools, especially the role of leadership, in addressing the challenge. Therefore, the paper proposes that rural school leaders should adopt a multi-actor approach in engaging their communities to mobilise both human and material resources in addressing poor student attendance and other school challenges associated with the problem. The paper also proposes an approach or a model of engagement.

“Constant Communication”: Rural Principals' Leadership Practices During a Global Pandemic

Rural school leaders are met with serious challenges and opportunities to lead rural schools in times of normalcy, but these challenges are amplified during a crisis. Rural school principals in the United States faced an unprecedented crisis when school buildings closed in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure of rural school principals and their response to this crisis is exemplified through their leadership practices. Through qualitative methods, we examined the leadership practices of rural principals through the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, and we found that rural principals exhibit the practices of caretaker leadership. From the findings, we used a meta-leadership frame to discuss the caretaker leadership practices of rural school principals.

Envisioning the Rural Practicum

Recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas continue to dominate educational narratives across the country. School districts, state agencies, and university schools of education have instituted strategies including financial incentives, alternative standards and licensure criteria, and grow-your-own programs that target underemployed locals and paraprofessionals for accelerated licensure. While each strategy may enjoy situational success, none is a panacea for all circumstances. However, there is growing interest in the development of university and school district partnerships in creating innovative solutions to rural recruitment and retention issues. This study investigates the efficacy of a partnership between several small rural districts and a state university partnering to create and test a contextualized clinical practice model. The Montana State University rural practicum placed 13 preservice teachers in a week-long, immersive clinical practice in rural, remote schools in Montana, for them to authentically experience the rural context and for researchers to determine if such an experience might positively affect recruitment and retention efforts. The study used a community-based participatory research method to ensure equal participation of both university and rural school partners in co-creating the experience and in collecting and analyzing data. Results suggest that the rural practicum experience positively affected preservice teacher perceptions of rural teaching and rural communities. Rural school leaders and university personnel also agreed that the model held promise for recruiting and retaining teachers in rural areas.

The Role of Rural School Leaders in a School-Community Partnership

Rural schools play central roles in their communities, and rural education scholars advocate for rural school-community partnerships to support school and community renewal. Across the United States, including in rural areas, formal models for school-community partnerships have been scaled up. The literature on rural principals highlights their roles in developing school-community partnerships, yet questions remain as to how school leaders engage in such partnerships. Using boundary-spanning leadership as a theoretical lens, this descriptive study examines the role of district and school leaders in a regional school-community partnership, including as founding members, champions of collaboration, cheerleaders for the partnership, and amplifiers of often excluded voices.

Developing Rural School Leaders Through Leadership Coaching: A Transformative Approach

ABSTRACT In this article, we report the findings of a study of a three-year, research-practice partnership designed to enhance the leadership capabilities of school leaders in 12 predominantly rural, high-poverty school districts in the southeastern United States. The partnership provided cross-district, job-embedded leadership development to ten school leaders through leadership coaching in a leadership learning community (LLC). Utilizing transformative learning theory, we illustrate how the leaders’ participation in the LLC increased their leadership capabilities through a combination of personalized learning, a focused improvement process, facilitation and coaching, and collaboration with other leaders. We conclude with implications for research and practice.

The Professional Development Needs of Rural High School Principals

The increased emphasis on standards-based school accountability since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is focusing critical attention on the professional development of school principals and their ability to meet the challenges of improving student outcomes. While rural school districts are dealing with many of the same issues facing urban districts, there are unique challenges that rural school principals face. However, effective professional development that addresses the unique needs of rural school leaders can build essential leadership capacity that supports school success. This article discusses the results of a study on the professional development needs of rural high school principals for school improvement. These findings provide direction for the development of professional development activities that will enhance the leadership skills that principals need to guide school reform and reach higher standards of student achievement.

A Beginning Rural Principal's Toolkit

The purpose of this article is to explore both the challenges and skills needed to effectively assume a leadership position and thus to create an entry plan or ‘toolkit’ for a new rural school leader. The entry plan acts as a guide beginning principals may use to navigate the unavoidable confusion that comes with leadership. It also assists aspiring new leaders to think through, and vicariously experience, the challenges they may face in a leadership role. If focuses on three specific areas most relevant to rural principals: Dealing with professional isolation and loneliness, getting to know and thriving in a rural community, and basic management skills for the lone administrator. It provides a series of tools that beginning principals may find useful as they embark on a leadership journey in a rural setting and also identifies the specific skills various stakeholder groups perceive as most important for rural school leaders.

The Essential Three (e3): A University Partnership to Meet the Professional Learning Needs of Rural Schools

The Essential Three (e3) is a professional learning series that focuses on supporting rural school districts and school leaders as they engage in the important work of prioritizing and determining areas of instructional focus. As educators transition to new rigorous state and national standards and face the challenges of learning newly adopted instructional frameworks/evaluation tools, the e3 training has offered educators much needed guidance and support within high-needs, rural districts in Florida. As the result of a partnership between the North-East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) and the University of North Florida, teacher leaders and school administrators have now implemented a streamlined process to increase rigor, collaboration, and student engagement within the learning environment. This work details the comprehensive implementation process, as well as various promising practices for educators and rural school leaders to impact policies and instructional practice.

Developing social capital for collaboration in a research-practice partnership

PurposeThe ever-increasing pressure for school improvement has led to a related increase in research-practice partnerships (RPPs) that address problems of practice. Yet, little research has centered on how the myriad challenges to such partnerships can be overcome, such as bridging the cultural divide between universities and their school-based partners. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine how social capital was developed among the members of a steering committee in a RPP between a university and a 12-district consortium of predominantly rural, high-poverty school districts to develop and implement a professional development initiative for rural school leaders.Design/methodology/approachData for this phenomenological single case study were collected over a one-year period through participant observations, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with ten steering committee members. Data were inductively and deductively coded through multiple rounds of analysis, which drew on the structural and cognitive elements of social capital (Uphoff, 2000). Findings were triangulated and member checked for trustworthiness.FindingsThe analysis of the data revealed three key ways in which social capital was developed among members of the steering committee to overcome the cultural challenges of RPPs to develop and implement a professional development initiative for rural school leaders: providing an open but focused structure, ensuring inclusive and respectful discussion and negotiating roles and ideas.Originality/valueThe findings provide a fine-grained illustration of how intentional efforts to develop social capital among members in a co-design team can assist in bridging the cultural boundaries often encountered in RPPs.

Challenges for rural school leaders in a developing context: A case study on leadership practices of effective rural principals

School leaders in all settings require suitable integration of leadership knowledge and skills to respond effectively to the many challenges that beset them in their daily work. However, it is argued that the rural context creates additional and distinctive challenges for school leaders, as rural schools have unique challenges and traits that differentiate them markedly from those in urban areas. To help understand how rural leaders in rural schools deal with the challenges and complexity in their work five schools were selected for the study. A qualitative research paradigm was selected. The selection process involved a purposive sample. Three of the five principals on whom the case studies were based were in their first year and the other two, were in their third and fourth year as a permanent teaching principal, respectively. Principals were interviewed using semi-structured, in-depth interviews. It was found that the desirability of principals acquiring a rural lens as a strategy for enhancing leadership has important implications for their initial preparation and also for their ongoing professional training.

Addressing the achievement gap

PurposeDeveloping countries in many parts of the world have experienced a disturbing trend in the differential pace of economic development among urban and rural communities. These inequities have been observed in education systems in Asia, Africa, and Latin America where researchers have documented differences not only in resource allocation but also in the academic performance among students in urban and rural schools. Recently researchers have shifted their focus from examining financial and physical resources to investigating the nature and impact of differences in human resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in school organization processes associated with learning-centered leadership and teacher learning among urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. Teacher trust and teacher agency were proposed as possible mediators of leadership effects on teacher learning.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a cross-sectional survey design. The authors collected survey data from 1,011 teachers and 60 principals in 30 urban and 30 rural primary schools in Thailand. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping were used to analyze the proposed model of leadership and teacher professional learning. More specifically, data analysis was aimed at determining the nature of relationships among the constructs in the conceptual model and whether patterns of leadership and teacher learning differed in urban and rural primary schools.FindingsThe results affirmed a model whereby school leadership exerted significant indirect effects on teacher learning in both urban and rural primary schools. Data analyses determined that the path of leadership effects moved through trust to agency and then to teacher professional learning. Thus, while the authors found a strong direct effect of leadership on teacher trust, there were only small direct effects of leadership on teacher agency and no meaningful direct effects of leadership on teacher professional learning. Thus, the research affirmed a full mediation model of leadership effects on teacher learning. Finally, the study also affirmed that the measured variables were perceived as significantly stronger in the urban schools than in the rural schools.Social implicationsThe research expands on prior research on the “achievement gap” in Thailand by demonstrating the existence of a similar “human resource gap” when comparing urban and rural school leaders and teachers. This study implies that addressing the gap in student achievement will require action aimed at building the capacity of the principals and teachers who work with the rural pupils.Originality/valueThese results suggest differences in the quality of human resources between urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. There may be potential benefit to be gained from providing training focused on “learning-centered leadership” for principals and middle level leaders, as well as expanding access to quality professional development opportunities for rural teachers.