“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” and Other Stories From a Rural High School

• In Event: Literatures of Marginalization and the Marginalization of Literatures

Abstract

In the tradition of narrative inquiry, this paper presents youth perspectives on education which were collected during a qualitative research study with 25 rural seniors who were not ‘college bound.’ Data (the stories) derive from student digital storytelling projects, interviews and class participation. Their experiences were analyzed using a critical multicultural lens. This paper addresses the following direct research question: How do students in rural schools perceive the value of their public high school education? Through this question, other questions emerge, including: What themes emerge when students talk about their schooling? Their futures? And the connections between the two? How can students’ stories about high school help educators better meet the needs of students to support opportunity and access?

Authors

• Bea Staley

• Candace Jesse Stout, The Ohio State University

• Brian Kellett, The Ohio State University