Rural School-Community Partnerships: A Literature Review

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Rural School-Community Partnerships

Abstract

School and community partnerships have recently attracted attention in their potential to improve educational outcomes. Like much research in education, rural settings have largely been overlooked in this literature, despite the central role of schools in rural communities. This structured review examines the empirical literature on rural school-community partnerships to 1) understand what is known about these partnerships; 2) assess the strengths and weaknesses of the body of literature; 3) identify directions for future research. It identifies a range a range of partnership types, with a turn towards more systematic partnerships in recent years. It identifies social capital and school leadership as facilitators and low population density as an inhibitor. Areas for future research include comparative, cross-case study.

Author

• Sarah J Zuckerman, University of Nebraska - Lincoln