In rural Canada the issue of school closures and consolidations due to low enrollment and heightened fiscal constraints has become a contentious and highly charged issue for citizens and communities. This literature review synthesizes the major effects of school closure on rural communities, identifying economic impacts, social impacts, and…

Framed within ecological and institutional ethnography perspectives, and situated within a larger study of beginning teachers in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, this paper focuses on the dramatically different experiences of one beginning teacher who happened to secure half-time contracts in two rural schools within commuting distance of…

This paper reports on the ways in which teaching principals in rural schools in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, Canada enact instructional leadership within the five leadership domains conceptualized by Robinson, Lloyd, and Rowe (2008). Although participants suggested that they were "not where they wanted to be" in their efforts to…

There is a scarcity of research in contemporary rural studies in Canada, particularly pertaining to education. Discrepancies exist in definitions of rural and rurality. What is the meaning of rural, and how do educators define their teaching praxes? This study explores how one music teacher negotiates her role identity in a rural setting through…

Within this article, we thematically present common challenges associated with the role of the rural principal. In this literature review, we delimit our search to work published from 2003-2013. A limitation of this study is that it represents data predominantly from American, Canadian, and Australian rural settings, restricting a global…

Despite the existing research on rural education, rural teaching, and pre-service rural practicum placements, there is little research on the experiences of beginning teachers in rural schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Saskatchewan beginning teachers who obtain employment in rural or northern schools. Eight…

In this paper, the author explores the rural school context and its teacher leaders as a third transformational leadership prototype adding to Leithwood and Jantzi's (1999) two transformational leadership prototypes of females and new teachers in the elementary school. The author helps illuminate new understanding of rural schools and their highly…

A decade ago the Advanced Placement (AP) program was introduced into the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Initially, schools embraced this opportunity to provide their students with opportunities that were previously unavailable. However, within a few years the AP program was relegated to urban and large regional high schools. Few…

Surveyed rural-elementary school teachers in British Columbia to ascertain their perceptions of school-community relations and how this concept could/should be taught and/or strengthened in university preservice programs. (AH)

The five-year rural elementary teacher education program at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, features extended field experience in remote rural schools and communities. The program seeks to provide preservice elementary teachers with a realistic awareness of the rural teacher's worklife. (SV)

Study of how busing time to school affected daily activities in 64 rural households in Eastern Townships School Board, Quebec (Canada), found that household schedules altered according to distance from school, constraints on students' and families' activities increased as travel time increased, travel time was viewed as wasted time, and farm…

A study examined the impact of the rural context upon the careers of women educational administrators in Saskatchewan. Surveys and interviews with 24 female rural administrators indicated that the behavior and career patterns of rural female administrators were influenced by the organizational context of the school and its community. A new…

Reviews studies on rural schools and rural teaching in British Columbia. Notes most teaching vacancies will occur in rural areas. Cites lack of preparation programs for rural teachers, discusses the University of Victoria's programs, and suggests internships and teacher exchange programs as ways to sensitize students/teachers to rural life. (CN)

A survey concerning teacher mobility, completed by 94 past and current teachers in a rural British Columbia school district, found that teachers left because of geographic isolation, weather conditions, distance from larger communities and family, and inadequate shopping facilities. Teachers stayed because of their principal, spouse employment in…

Succession planning focuses on anticipated future administrative positions, the expected skill requirements of those positions, and developing potential candidates to fill the positions. Although succession planning is basically a business oriented model, it seems appropriate for rural educational settings. Strategies for implementing succession…