“Hey, I Saw Your Grandparents at Walmart”: Teacher Preparation for Rural Schools and Communities

• In Event: Standardized Education in Nonstandard Rural Places

Abstract

This case study contributes to the expanding body of research in rural education concerned with preparing new teachers to understand the social context of teaching and learning in rural places. It is unique in that it includes the perspective of school personnel, parents, grandparents, and students in the midst of a school consolidation. What can these particular study participants contribute to understanding of rural teacher preparation? Without exception participants described the importance of interpersonal relationships between teachers and children and the fluid boundaries between the community and school. Their descriptions contradict legislated ideas about the purpose and form of education that are often incompatible with education in rural places.

Author

• Karen Eppley, The Pennsylvania State University