Launched in 2021 by a team of undergraduate students, university faculty, associate researchers, and community partners collaborating as genuine equals in a diverse team, the Together Time Story Sacks intergenerational literacies program forms part of an ongoing action research project aimed at understanding and addressing barriers that residents…

This paper explores the value of using a practice lens to explore how leadership happens in a rural school. I contend that examining leadership-as-practice provides an alternate means of understanding the phenomenon of rural school leadership, which transitions the focus of study away from the traits and behaviors of individual school leaders, by…

The majority of the research to date on education networks has been conducted in the urban context; few studies specifically examine the experience and impact of rural collaboratives, and even fewer of these have had a regional character that spans states or provinces (Battelle for Kids, 2016; Kannapel & DeYoung, 1999; Tieken, 2014). This…

The province of New Brunswick is growing its population through immigration and retention strategies of newcomers to grow and stabilize its economy. Many communities, traditionally unaccustomed to such growth, are now experiencing a rapid shift in their ethnocultural populations. This report is based on a case study research conducted in three…

This case examines a rural teaching principal in a small K-12 school in a prairie province. The case examines the work intensification of Mrs. Hayes, whose school has been affected by reductions in student enrolment, staffing, and administrative time. Overwhelmed by myriad responsibilities, the principal feels inadequate as both a teacher and a…

Understanding the supports and constraints available in rural communities is integral to the education of professionals who choose to practise in rural settings. Previous research has indicated that many professionals do not have an accurate understanding of rural contexts and how rural settings impact personal life and professional practice. To…

Increasingly, teacher involvement in collaborative design of curriculum is viewed as a form of professional development. However, the research base for this stance is limited. While it is assumed that the activities teachers undertake during collaborative design of curricular materials can be beneficial for teacher learning, only a few studies…

Rachel Wilson is a novice principal and new school leader of a large English junior-senior high school located in a rural township of a maritime province in Canada. Upon her appointment, she was challenged with having to establish herself as a credible leadership choice for the venue in addition to having to engage in new role learning as a…

This article describes a case study of adult learning in a Canadian multisite Community Cardiovascular Hearts in Motion program. The researcher highlights the informal learning of 40 adult participants in this 12-week community-based cardiac rehabilitation/education program in five rural Nova Scotia communities. The effects of this learning and…

In many trades the demand for training seats has strained the conventional delivery capacity of training providers in Canada. Manitoba, along with other Canadian provinces is experiencing a shortage of skilled tradespersons required to enable current and future economic expansion. Due to the deficiency in the skilled labor force, a community…

Discussions of forest certification have tended to characterize certification systems as a prime example of the hollowing out of the state and a shift from government to governance. The continued contention that certification is a product of a retreating state has implications for how we understand democratic participation and fails to pay…

The purpose of this doctoral research study is to add to our knowledge about principal decision relational networks across a recently consolidated group of school districts in Newfoundland, Canada. By studying principals making district-wide technology policy, we outline the key decision making factors found among rural and urban leaders. We use a…

With the likelihood of future changes in climate and climate variability, it is important to understand how human systems may be vulnerable. Rural communities in Saskatchewan having agricultural-based economies are particularly dependent on climate and could be among the most vulnerable human systems in Canada. Future changes in climate are likely…

This paper examines voluntarism as a response to the challenges faced by people growing old in rural communities that are themselves being transformed in fundamental ways, both socially and demographically. Informed by evolving theorisations within the rural aging and geographies of voluntarism literatures, we outline the key processes in space…

This case study examines not only the prevalence of substance abuse in one rural, Canadian high school, but also how teachers understand teaching and learning in relation to substance abuse. Over one third of students reported that they had used marijuana (37%) and alcohol (38%) in the last seven days, a rate considerably higher than typical…