By means of a qualitative research method known as folknography, a concerted effort was made to discern perceptions of math and math education in the rural Midwest. A community that will be referred to as Midville, located in the state of Illinois, was chosen as the target population for this study. The community and surrounding region stands over…

A sudden increase in Hispanic migrant students in a small, rural Illinois school district necessitated pedagogical, curricular, and philosophical changes, particularly with regard to bilingual education. This experience highlighted the importance of bilingual faculty, policies and programs based on sound theory and research, faculty training in…

Low achievement of state mathematics standards caused a rural Illinois school district to realize that repeated coverage of lower-level material blocked student progress. Subsequently, elementary teachers learned new ways to teach math, and secondary teachers replaced practical math with algebra courses. Students achieved new levels of math…