Ruraling Education Research : Connections Between Rurality and the Disciplines of Educational Research

This edited volume brings together a collection of chapters from leading scholars in rural education with the purpose of linking knowledge from the rural education field to the wider discipline of education studies. Through addressing significant issues in the rural education field, the book gives insights from rural education that have general relevance for the wider disciplines of education, and provides up-to-date scholarship in research in rural contexts. This book aims to be a definitive and comprehensive edition of contemporary rural education scholarship that works as a guide for those new to researching in and for rural contexts, as well as actively expand the other sub-fields of education from a rural perspective. It examines the connection between rurality and the other domains of educational research, exploring what a rural perspective might bring to the broader fields of educational research, and how it might evolve them. In its unique approach, this book brings the concept of ‘rural’ to the disciplines of education; chapters regarding the ethics of research in the rural context speaks to a gap in rural education, and provide tools for engaging marginalised communities more generally in educational research. Contents 5 Contributors 7 List of Figures 9 List of Tables 10 1 Ruraling Education Research 11 Ruraling? 12 Education as a Discipline 14 The Present Volume 15 An Overview of Chapters 17 References 19 2 Framing Rural and Remote: Key Issues, Debates, Definitions, and Positions in Constructing Rural and Remote Disadvantage 22 Understanding ‘Rural’ 24 Making Rural (Education) Policy 26 Rural Colonialism 27 Conceptualising Remote 28 Hegemonic Rhetoric 29 Power of Naming 30 What Is ‘Dis-Advantage’? 30 Silences: Who Is Silent in Western Empiricism? 31 Lack of Evidence—A Philosophical Issue 32 Conclusion 32 References 33 3 Rural Social Space: A Conceptual-Analytical Framework for Rural (Teacher) Education and the Rural Human Services 37 Introduction: Understanding Rural Social Space 37 Challenging the Deficit Model 39 Conceptualising Rural Social Space 41 Working with Rural Social Space 44 Conclusion 51 References 52 4 Exploring the Interplay of the ‘Rural’ and ‘Community’ in and for Teacher Education Research 55 Introduction 56 Beyond the Metropolis, Beyond the Rural, Beyond Populism 56 Beyond the Metropolis 57 Beyond the Rural 57 Beyond Populism 58 Coming to ‘Terms’: ‘Rural Community’ 59 Exploring a Set of Spatial Theoretical Tools in, with and for: Rural Communities and Beyond 61 Thirdspace 62 Funds of Knowledge 63 Conclusion 65 References 65 5 The Rural Community Walk: A Structured Learning Experience for Understanding Place 69 The Foot of the Farmer 69 Teacher Preparation and the Rural Context 71 Insights from Conceptual Change Theory 72 Principles of Practice from Community Development Professionals 74 The Rural Community Walk Context 74 The Rural Community Walk Implementation 75 Step One: Identify Your Guide 76 Step Two: Identify Your Lenses 76 Step Three: Explore Digital Representations of Rural Community 78 Step Four: Develop Personal Understandings of Rural Community 78 Step Five: Draw Your Map 79 Step Six: Draw Your Conclusions 79 Recommendations for Using the RCW Model to Build Accurate Understandings of Place 80 Conclusion 81 References 81 6 Using Rural Frameworks and Research to Develop Understandings of Educational Justice and Equity Across Socio-Spatial Settings 84 Introduction: Researching Education Justice and Equity as Urban or Generic 84 Researching Rurality to Rethink Structural Educational Injustice 85 Places and Their Historical and Contemporary Production Relations 87 School Presentations of Place and Values in the Age of Marketisation 89 Discussion 91 Conclusions 94 References 95 7 Charter Schools and the Reconfiguring of the Rural School-Community Connection 98 Introduction 98 The Schools and Communities 100 Riverton 102 Jackson 103 Rockridge 103 Logansville 104 School as the “Heart of Community” 105 The Community in the School 106 A School for Which Community? 107 Reflections 109 References 110 8 Erasing Rurality: On the Need to Disaggregate Statistical Data 113 An Australian Example: Remoteness and Literacy and Numeracy Results 115 Method 117 Results 123 An American Example: Remoteness and Advanced Placement Access 124 Method 124 Implications 130 References 131 9 Pathways, Principals, and Place 134 Introduction 135 Conceptual Framework 135 Rural Social Space 136 Social Justice 136 Mapping the Field 137 Stay or Leave? Student and Community Futures 138 The Study: Lived Experiences of Australian Rural Pathways Advisors 140 Pathways Advising and Place 140 Rural Pathways Advisors Need Strong Local Knowledge 141 Principals and Place 142 Understanding Place to Better Inform the Distribution of School Resources 143 Understanding Place to Bolster Community Sustainability 144 Supporting Local Knowledge as Professional Learning 145 Closing Thoughts 145 References 146 10 Can Boarding Be Better? Ethical Dilemmas for Policy-Makers, Education Providers and Evidence-Makers 149 Introduction and Background 149 Policy Space in Which Boarding Operates for Remote and Rural Students 151 Boarding Policy in Historical Context 151 How Is Policy Constructed? 152 What Does the Evidence Say? 153 Outcome for Individuals 153 Social and Emotional Well-Being 154 Identity and Culture 154 Families and Choice 154 Towards an Ethical Response to Boarding 155 Conclusions 157 References 158 11 Using Rural Education Research to Rethink Literacies Pedagogies 162 Introduction 162 Reflecting on Three Incidents 163 Incident One 163 Incident Two 164 Incident Three 164 Considering Rural Education Research and Literacies Pedagogies 165 Mapping Literacies Pedagogies 165 Understanding the Effects of Different Pedagogical Approaches 167 Putting Pedagogies on the Public Record 169 How Might Rural Education Research Contribute to Literacies Pedagogies? 171 Conclusion 173 References 174 12 How Can Rural Education Research Make Inclusive Education Better? 179 Introduction 179 Conceptualising Rural Education Research and Inclusion Practice in Australia 181 Theorising Rural Intersections—Using Strength-Based Approaches 184 Using a Rural Lens 185 Place—Affordances of Rural Schools and Districts 185 How Might Rural Education Research Inform the Field of Inclusive Practice? 187 Discussion and Implications—New Opportunities for Research 189 Conclusion 191 References 192 13 Linguistic Landscape Methodologies in Rural Education and Educational Research 196 Linguistic Landscape Methodology 198 A Case Study of the Main Street and Beyond 200 New Theoretical Insights for LL from the Rural Perspective 202 New Insights for Education Research to Be Gained from LL Methodology 204 References 205 14 Dancing Koalas, Burning Books, and “Fair Game”: Using Butler’s Concept of Performativity to Examine Rural Gender Performances 207 Rurality and Gender: A Co-constitutive Affair 208 Where I Fit in 209 Coming to Know My Community 210 Links Between Gender Performances and Schooling Performances 211 Links Between Gender Performances, Rural Performances, and Domestic Violence 212 Doing and Undoing Rural Gender Performances: Stories of Hope and Despair 213 Unmasking and Re-masking Rural Gender Performances 216 References 217 15 Harnessing Social Capital in Rural Education Research to Promote Aspiration and Participation in Learning 219 Introduction 219 Case Studies 222 Volunteering at ‘Agfest’, Tasmania’s Major Rural Event 222 Pathways to Success 223 Rural Aspirations 224 Community Learning Plans (CLPs) in Two Rural Communities 226 Implications and Conclusion 227 References 228 16 The Invisible Cohort: Remote Students’ Engagement and Success in Higher Education 232 Introduction 233 Background 234 Research Approach 235 Identifying the Invisible Cohort 236 Remote Students’ Perspectives 237 Discussion 239 Conclusion 242 References 243 17 The Politics of Ethics in Rural Social Research: A Cautionary Tale 246 Introduction: Understanding Rural Differences 246 Rural Research Is About Place(s) 248 Site Studies 249 Research that Values Place Does not ‘Anonymise’ It 251 Using Images 254 Rural Research Is Often Directly or Indirectly About Aboriginal People 256 Research Often Takes Longer in Rural and Remote Locations and Costs More 258 Conclusion 260 References 261 18 Valuing the Rural: Using an Ethical Lens to Explore the Impact of Defining, Doing and Disseminating Rural Education Research 263 Introduction 264 Valuing the Rural 265 Thinking About Benefit or Harm 265 Working Ethically in Rural Communities 267 Defining Rural Research 269 Doing Rural Research 272 Rural Indigenous Research 274 Disseminating Rural Research 277 Conclusion 278 References 279 19 People, Places, and Communities in an Urban Century: Broadening Rural Education Research 284 On Not Defining Rurality 285 Building the Field of Rural Education Research Outward 286 Context Matters 287 A Spark of Inspiration 288 Implications and Provocations 289 Theory 290 Methodological Considerations 291 Disciplines in Education 292 Schooling Choices 293 Future Research Directions 294 Closing Thoughts 295 References 295 Index 298