Opioids in the Heartland: How Rural Educators and Educational Leaders Frame the National Opioid Crisis

• In Event: Complicating Notions of Justice

Abstract

I analyze data gathered from interviews and fieldwork conducted in two rural districts in western Pennsylvania, an area highly affected by the recent opioid epidemic, to examine how educational leaders and educators framed the opioid crisis as local and educational problem. I find that across the two study districts, how residents reconciled local conditions with broader rural, drug “addict,” and education discourses (i.e., immoral drug “addict,” purposes of schooling, etc.), ultimately, shaped how participants came to understand the opioid crisis and their responsibility for addressing its effects within their local communities and schools. I conclude this paper with a broader discussion on the interactions between public education, health, and local contexts.

Author

• Ian Burfoot-Rochford, The Pennsylvania State University