Did rural America bring Donald Trump to the presidency? As a phenomenon related to the rise of Trump, the authors try, in this paper, to explain the conservatism that surrounds them personally, as rural residents and rural education scholars. Their neighbors are (mostly) conservative; in part it defines them; it is part of their culture. They have…

Dissertation literature focusing on issues of curriculum and instruction (C&I) in rural schools has substantially increased since 1987. We located 580 possibly rural C&I dissertations and subsequently identifi ed 194 as probably rural; of these we were able to obtain digital copies of 188 full-length studies. Our purpose was to…

This article interprets inequality evident at the intersection of three realms: (a) mathematical talent (as a cultural phenomenon); (b) rural place and rural life; and (c) future economic, political, and ecological developments. The discussion explains this outlook on inequality, contextualizes interest in rural mathematics education, presents the…

This essay considers the intellectual engagement of rural people in the context of their schooling. It argues that rural schooling shares the miseducative purposes common to American schooling in general (i.e., purposes associated with sustaining American global economic dominion). It frames rurally appropriate education as an on-the-ground…

Offering a response to the question, "What rural education research is of most worth?", the authors recommend an approach very different from the one taken by Arnold, Newman, Gaddy, and Dean (2005) in their consideration of the rural education research literature. They remind readers that about 150 years ago, Herbert Spencer put a similar…

Discuses interpretations of the term rural, examining the difference between a mainstream and critical view, especially at the intersection between schooling and life circumstance. Noting that the rural has been both idealized and demonized, the paper argues that the lives of many rural students are shaped by important commitments that can serve…

Addresses the challenge of placing mathematics knowledge in context through a critical interpretation of math teaching and learning, discussion of what constitutes math knowledge, and examination of the effect of rural context. Presents principles for rural math education research, related to knowledge and context, the institution of schooling,…

This essay explains the relevance of critique in rural education to novels about rural places. The most important quoted passage in the essay is from the noted physicist Richard Feynman: "Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." Novelist-physicist C. P. Snow, historian Henry Adams, and poet and student-of-mathematics Kelly Cherry also…

Very little empirical research has examined mathematics education in rural schools and communities. A modest nonresearch literature does exist, however, and this study analyzed this literature. We found 3 themes describing the prescriptions given to rural educators: (a) mathematics education in rural schools needs to be fixed; (b) good things…

Compares and contrasts two economic views, political economy and neoclassical economics, as they pertain to the development of human capital and education in rural areas. The concluding discussion draws implications for rural educators. (Author/KS)

This digest examines the best evidence available on mathematics achievement in rural schools and offers recommendations for further research. Findings on the mathematics achievement of secondary students are presented, based on analyses of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 1996 and 2000, the Longitudinal Study of American…

This essay explains two ways in which "the rural" serves as context. The common way interprets the rural lifeworld as an impediment to certain projects and goals, thus framing "the rural" as a subjugated and diminished reality. The other way is called "the rural circumstance" in order to situate the rural lifeworld as…

This paper uses data from a survey of K-12 unit schools to fashion a measure of small school sustainability and relate it to variables pertinent to the rural context. Drawing on definitions of sustainable development and sustainable agriculture, this study proposes sustainability as a concept appropriate to schooling in general, and to small rural…

Research on rural mathematics education should adopt a conservative approach to method that accepts the existence of a knowable reality; a liberal approach to content that views rural issues broadly and sidesteps deficit models of rurality; and a radical perspective on application that recognizes that the use of research findings in the policy…

Argues that the primary purpose of mass education in America--nation-building--is collapsing and that educational researchers must develop different commitments; among these are local purposes for education. Distinguishes rural (local) and cosmopolitan commitments; suggests readings and other means of preparation for rural educational research;…