This paper advances the theoretical and applied connection between education policy and community development. We call this community-aware education policy, and it is based on Dean's (2012) conception of human need that is thick (i.e., accounts for a relational context), rather than relying solely on a thin conception (i.e., instrumental view…

The purpose of this research is to examine how one music education program strengthens students' sense of place. Enhancing students' understanding of the people and places that surround them is integral in creating 21st century citizens. Making music allows people to be part of their culture; and engaging in group music-making activities provides…

Communities, schools, their music programs, and the individuals who participate in these groups are tied to the social, cultural, and political contexts in which they reside. Schools are often connected to their communities, and are often deeply cherished in rural communities. School music programs hold the potential to influence a small…

Community plays an important role in childhood education. This research has identified the community factors that affect learners' achievement through the use of case studies. Qualitative data were captured by semi-structured interview and data interpretation was underpinned by concepts derived from human capital and social capital theories. This…

In a rural context in a developing country purchasing a computer and connecting it to the Internet is in itself difficult, even when the lack of money is a minor issue. These issues prevent individuals in rural communities from familiarizing themselves with educational technology and ICT in general. The present study investigates the specific…

With Shaanxi province as an example, this study presents empirical evidence on the effect of primary school consolidation in rural areas on student achievement, using the difference-in-differences method. The results show no significant differences in student achievement between consolidated schools and nonconsolidated schools. If student…

This article examines how school superintendents and parents in high-needs rural districts conceptualized educational quality. Specifically, this comparative case study of two rural school superintendents presents a contextualized understanding of rural superintendents' and other educators' mainstream views of educational quality, parents and…

This case study uses the work of Michel Foucault to challenge the normalization of the principal's role and to examine the complex power relations of a rural school and community in the midst of a closure/consolidation and subsequent reopening as a charter school. In so doing, we move beyond analysis of best practices and toward a more theoretical…

Many researchers believe that computers have the ability to help improve the reading skills of students. In an effort to improve the poor reading scores of students on state tests, as well as improve students' overall academic performance, computers and other technologies have been installed in Frozen Bay School classrooms. As the success of these…

This study examined teacher and administrator perspectives in regards to the adoption and implementation of an elementary mathematics teaching approach called Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI), at three elementary school sites of a rural elementary school district, located in the Central Valley of California. A holistic exploratory case study…

In rural Araucanía secondary schools, prescriptive and formal government programs for interculturalism--designed to overcome differentials between Indigenous and non-Indigenous pupils in educational outcomes--have had limited impact. Drawing on research across four schools, this article examines how the dynamics between state-led top-down…

In-service courses have been used as a common strategy to build the capacity of teachers to meet the constantly changing demands of modern schooling. But how the teachers implement the ideas and strategies acquired from such in-service training and what conditions influence the implementation process is the least examined area in Pakistan,…

This article describes a qualitative exploration of a primary school in a remote rural community of Tanzania, whose students showed promising performance in mathematics, as measured by the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). Case study methods were used to conduct research about the school and the community and included interviews, focus…

This case study contributes to counterpoints made to world culture theory and underscores that at the micro, classroom-level, rural Chinese teachers in a reform-oriented professional development course, and reform-oriented U.S. teacher trainers, understand educational reform, and the realities of education in these two cultures, very differently.…

Delving into the "black box" of schooling can help us better understand the paradoxical reality that schooling for girls can be simultaneously empowering and disempowering. Despite recent interest in developing innovative research methodologies within the field of comparative education, there has been less attention to and reflexivity…