Issues in Rural Education Research: Views from the National Research Center on Rural Education Support Thomas W. Farmer Pennsylvania State University

Common Issues In Diverse Rural Areas Educational needs of at-risk youth Issues of critical mass and geographical isolation Limited resources and professional development Commitment to local issues and concept of “place”

NRCRES Research Agenda Supporting Teachers of Rural Students with Unique Needs –TRI –Project Real –EROL Professional Development and Delivery Strategies –Real time support –Institutes and face-to-face consultation –Video conferencing and discussion boards Identifying Additional Research Needs –HSA –Teacher and administrator attention –Special education delivery issues

Lessons Learned: Rural Intervention Research There is more than one “rural” –Intervention design must be responsive to different contexts –Research design can be challenging and identifying comparable sites for randomization is very difficult Increased research costs –Variability in district and school configurations, critical mass –Isolation increases both staffing and travel costs “Place” matters –Pride, loyalty, and identity linked to the land or the community –Expectation that curriculum and instruction is linked to place –School is viewed as a primary anchor of the community

Improving Rural Education Research Descriptive and Process Data –Reduce focus on broad sweeping rural-urban comparisons –Examine rural communities with configurations of similar issues and characteristics –Systematically document the diversity and complexity of rural education research needs Establish Models of Educational Research that are Rural Specific –Develop research support mechanisms that are responsive to the complexity and diversity of rural schools and communities –Partnerships between local teacher colleges and research universities –Develop interdisciplinary research teams with diverse methodologies and perspectives to document issues in various types of rural communities