Scholars theorize that the nature of school gun violence varies across school settings. Yet, there is a lack of statistical research testing this idea. This study investigates contextual factors associated with six forms of school gun incidents (N = 1,238) over a 40-year period (1980-2019) in the United States. To conduct the analyses, school,…

The roles of technology and education were at the forefront throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This mixed-methods study examines the role of the three levels of the digital divide (i.e., access, capability, and outcomes) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. We create and analyze a new multifaceted measure of district-level digital capacity to…

This study examined the perceptions of administrators and teachers to determine how the lack of broadband access has impacted decisions on virtual learning and the subsequent impact on student learning. The participants in the study were administrators and teachers from school districts that serve a low-income population (as determined by USDA…

As stress impacts the organization and operations of a school, leader stressors may be determined by the setting, years of experience of the leader, and the greater educational landscape in which the principal must lead. The researchers sought to differentiate between the perceived stress and joy of urban and rural school principals. Findings…

Across the United States, students attending rural school districts can face different obstacles than their urban counterparts, particularly rural students from households living below the federal poverty level. But how rural districts are defined can vary by federal, state, and local entity and can sometimes not capture the difficulties specific…

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, progressively more complete data have shed light on the tremendous variation in districts' approaches to schooling. Some districts have provided fully remote learning since the outset of the pandemic, some have mostly provided in-person learning, and others have fallen somewhere in between. In this report,…

Fourteen percent of the nation's population lives in rural communities, and one in five K-12 students attends a rural school. This is a substantial portion of the population, but it's far too often overlooked by education analysts, advocates, and policymakers. Rural communities tend to face some persistent challenges, including higher rates of…

American discourse is often accused of neglecting the interests and values of rural citizens, and this is particularly true when it comes to education. Rural students and the schools they attend receive little attention in either policy or academia. This report attempts to shed badly needed light on the challenges, and point to policies and…

This article provides provide a new, systematic profile of more than 18,000 homeless students in Michigan, utilizing rich administrative data from all test-taking students in Grades 3-9 during three academic years. These data are part of a larger study of school choice and student mobility in that state. Homelessness is a condition found…

This ERIC digest summarizes recent studies on poverty in rural areas. In 1986, the poverty rate in rural areas was 50 percent higher than the urban rate. During the 1980s, rural poverty stayed higher, rising more rapidly during recession, and falling more slowly in the "recovery" period. Characteristics that distinguish the rural poor…

The federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program provides incentives for high-poverty schools to pursue reform. In fiscal years 1998-99, $120 million, or 83 percent of total CSRD funds, was made available to states to target Title I schools serving disadvantaged students. Of the 1,748 schools participating in CSRD, over 85…

Effects of student poverty and location on school accountability scores were examined using hierarchical linear modeling and data from 1,115 Kentucky schools in 171 districts. Positive effects of nonmetro location were found, but they did not erase the strong negative effect of poverty. Projections indicate that equitable excellence will not be…

In 1998 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held a working conference on issues pertaining to effective mathematics education in schools serving poor communities. This paper reprises some themes of that conference and highlights potentially important issues to consider in a research agenda with an intentional focus on rural mathematics…

Based on 1990 census figures, Hispanics have the lowest per capita income ($8,007) of all racial population groups in Kansas. Eighteen percent of Kansas Hispanics live in poverty, as do 24 percent of Hispanic children and 62 percent of Hispanic female-headed single-parent families. Hispanics in rural counties of southwestern Kansas have higher…

Despite the considerable efforts now under way to improve our nation's mathematics education for all students, students in rural settings do not receive their share of attention. This paper considers school mathematics in rural communities in the larger context of current reform from a number of perspectives, including curricular materials,…