This essay considers the intellectual engagement of rural people in the context of their schooling. It argues that rural schooling shares the miseducative purposes common to American schooling in general (i.e., purposes associated with sustaining American global economic dominion). It frames rurally appropriate education as an on-the-ground…

Discuses interpretations of the term rural, examining the difference between a mainstream and critical view, especially at the intersection between schooling and life circumstance. Noting that the rural has been both idealized and demonized, the paper argues that the lives of many rural students are shaped by important commitments that can serve…

Addresses the challenge of placing mathematics knowledge in context through a critical interpretation of math teaching and learning, discussion of what constitutes math knowledge, and examination of the effect of rural context. Presents principles for rural math education research, related to knowledge and context, the institution of schooling,…

Recent work by both neoclassical and political economists suggests the scope of the influence of economic structures on rural socioeconomic conditions and rural education. In particular, dual labor-market analyses look beneath the surface of the macroeconomy--the national economy--to the underlying reality of regional or sectoral economic…

According to the definition that a rural school district is one in which 75% or more of the population lives outside Standard Metropolitan Areas or in which student density is equal to or less than 10 pupils per square miles, 36 or 65% of West Virginia's 55 counties are classified as rural. State school policies do not specifically recognize the…

The traditional relationships between rural and urban areas and the changes brought on by specialized rural industries discussed. The digest reviews work that has investigated the impact of farming, manufacturing, and mining on education. The effect of agricultural activity on academic achievement, especially via vocational agriculture programs,…

This paper addresses philosophical and ethical issues regarding school-to-work issues in public education. The purpose of school-to-work programs is to help students obtain employment. This paper asserts that schools should prepare students for work, but the concept of "work" entails much more than just securing employment.…

This talk addresses the connections between rural life and education research centered on rural places. It's informed by the author's experience of all three realms--life, education, and schooling. The author discusses how rural education consists of meanings related to the rural lifeworld as those issues confront the conventional agenda for…

This essay critiques the way in which state accountability schemes reify aggregated achievement test scores and help undercut the meanings that inform properly rural sorts of education. The contemporary phenomenon of accountability is examined, along with its relation to the threatened meanings of rural life, the identity of the rural victims of…