Education in Micropolitan America: A Particular Kind of Rural Place

• In Event: 58.035 - Reconceiving Rural Education: An Examination of Meaning and Equal Educational Opportunity

Abstract

In 2003, The U.S. Census Bureau adopted the “micropolitan” classification as part of its core-based statistical area system to more suitably distinguish the social and economic diversity of non-metropolitan communities. Defined as small towns of 10,000 to 49,999 residents, many micropolitans have also been referred to as “mini-metros with rural sensibilities” or “rurbans” (Francis, 2005) because they blend the agricultural economies associated with rural areas and the immigration patterns typically associated with urban areas (Brown, Colmartie & Kulcsar, 2004; Zehr, 2005). Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork in Garden City, Kansas—a community that for almost four decades’ time has exemplified the character of a micropolitan place because of the area’s beefpacking industry—this paper explores the significance of understanding educators’ day-to-day work in such a distinct rural setting.

Author

• Jennifer C. Ng, The University of Kansas