Constructing "The Rural School Problem": A Century of Rurality and Rural Education Research

• In Event: Systems, Structures, Policies: Rural Implications

Abstract

The purpose of this review of the literature is to trace the changing state of rural America since progressive urban education reformer Ellwood Cubberley defined “the rural school problem” in 1914 and to examine, analogously, the state of rural education research in the past century, both among those who consider themselves rural educational researchers and in the broader field. As the economic and social circumstances of rural America have changed, we explore answers to the questions: how has the positioning of rural schools changed? How responsive have we been as an education research community to the changing nature of rural life over the past century?

Authors

• Amy Price Azano, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Catharine Biddle, University of Maine