The increasing diversity in the K-12 student population in the US, particularly the rapid growth in the number of English learners (ELs) in urban and rural school classrooms and the continual homogenization of a White, female, teaching force create cultural and linguistic disconnections in the classroom. As research suggests, although classroom…

Over the last two decades, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has emerged as a pedagogical framework for inclusive teaching and learning. UDL builds on learner variability as a starting point for instructional and curricular design, and aims to minimize barriers in the learning environment. In addition to its widespread use in K12 settings and…

The number of rural English learner (EL) students and families has increased over the past decade, due in part to U.S. immigration and economic policies. Educators in rural schools face challenges associated with EL education, including obtaining resources for language teaching and learning, identifying and retaining specialized teachers, and…

Constructing written text in English can be a challenging endeavor for all students, but it holds particular challenges for English Language Learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD). For this reason, effective instruction needs to recognize the gifts of emergent bilingualism and respond to the challenges that ELLs with LD bring to the task…

In Norway, the national curriculum together with the Education Act serves as the foundation for teaching and learning in primary and secondary education and training. Local educational providers are given autonomy to develop local adaptations of the centrally given subject-specific curriculum competence aims. This article explores some structural…

Over the last decade, museums have reevaluated the ways in which they serve the public, particularly K-12 audiences. As funding concerns, travel distance, and school requirements prevent many students from visiting museums in person, America's 8.9 million rural students are disproportionately impacted, and educators are left to fill the gap with…

This study investigated physical education (PE) teachers' experiences with remote instruction in the United States during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. PE teachers (n = 4,362) from all 50 states completed a survey identifying their experiences with remote instruction in May, 2020. Survey responses were analyzed by geographic region, district…

Using social cultural career theory (SCCT) linked with tenets of equity, we examined the role of participation in science and engineering fairs (SEFs) on youth's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational and career choices. We analyzed data for evidence of the SCCT constructs of self-efficacy, interest, and learning…

A global perspective of education, special education, rural communities, and non-traditional instruction is provided for two countries. Both Turkey and Australia have responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic in similar yet, different ways. Through the tale of two countries navigating the rapid response to school closure for students with…

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything about the world we live in, in 2020. It is having obvious impacts on the way we teach and the way we learn. In Victoria, Monash Rural Health Bendigo is one of the few places that has managed to continue clinical health education and clinical placements throughout 2020--albeit in modified…

Lions Connected (LC) is an inclusive postsecondary program approved by the U.S. Department of Education; thus meeting rigorous program standards and accountability. Equally important is that it gives eligible students from rural areas the opportunity to receive federal financial aid to attend college. The purpose of developing LC was to meet the…

Technology has inserted itself into everyday life. This includes the classroom and instructional practices; however, veteran teachers face an unusual set of circumstances with technology. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, this study examines the current use of technology in veteran teachers' classrooms in rural Northwest Alabama. The…

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has been studying the four-day school week since 2015. Since then, the phenomenon of the four-day school week has spread into non-rural areas and interest appears to be growing. Given these apparent changes, the author wanted to know more about recent trends in the initiative. As districts continue…

This forum response extends the argument made by Avery and Hains that oral traditions can be useful for including the cultures and contexts of rural areas within science instruction. To buttress the oral expressions presented in Avery and Hains, I compare oral expressions of a second rural area, 600 miles to the South, in Eastern North Carolina. I…

A fit-for-purpose, functional program is the vehicle that guarantees the relevance of an education system by ensuring the sustainability of the society. Failure of a program to be relevant has the potential to cause crisis in a society. This basic qualitative research study explored the experiences of the beneficiaries of a skills development…