Chronicle of Rural Education

Improving Rural Education: Value and Input from Rural Higher Education

David Thornton — 2022-09-29

This is an editorial piece.Â

Times Have Been Changing

Jessica Koch — 2022-09-29

This is an editorial piece.Â

Experiences Abroad as Transformational Professional Learning for In-Service Teachers

Mark Felts — 2022-09-29

This essay is an attempt to illuminate a connection between the documented impacts of study abroad upon in-service/pre-service teachers and the types of professional development experiences that have also shown to have impact upon teacher practice. I document the need for more authentic teacher professional development and the evidence within existing literature of the impacts of study abroad experiences upon teacher practice. Benefits of study abroad for teachers are then compared to the professional development practices that have been accordingly impactful. Finally, I superimpose the benefits of study abroad experiences and the practices of impactful professional development to reveal that the literature supports a striking similarity. I argue that aspects of high-impact professional development can also be found among the documented benefits of study abroad experiences. This essay makes the case that the benefits shown by study abroad experience carry transformational potential, high-impact professional development activity for in-service teachers.

A Social Network Approach to Diffusion of Educational Technology Integration in the Early Childhood Grades

Dawn Pearce — 2022-09-29

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the social network structure of one rural PK-8 school in the Midwest implementing an educational technology integration initiative at the PK level. Participants in this study were purposefully selected based on their role in the 1:1 technology integration initiative, which included classroom teachers, two principals, one superintendent, and a district grant writer. Data were collected through surveys, interviews, observations, and document review. The data in this study indicated that external and internal isolation and social influence hindered the full adoption of classroom technology. The finding of this study suggests that the school's leadership plays a vital role in the development of the social system and the ultimate adoption of technology integration.

Post-Secondary Engagement Influences Thriving and Retention

Darcy Tessman — 2022-09-29

Levels of student engagement positively relate to feelings of belonging, retention, and graduation rates. This research examines student experiences utilizing high-impact practices at a rural institution in Oklahoma. Peer mentors lead student participants in two service-learning-based, co-curricular experiences to measure social competency and compare the perceived experience of students in a peer mentor role versus students in a mentee role. After each event, participants completed a retrospective post / pre-survey. The variables of confidence, competence, and connectedness were used to measure the percent change in social competency between groups. The Peer group showed a positive change in the measures of two variables and the Mentor group showed a positive change for all three. The results indicate support for the hypotheses that greater engagement increases social competency and retention until graduation.