Leading Rurally: Lessons on Leadership in Australian and American Rural Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The Symposium explores what it means to ‘lead rurally’ in the 21st century in Australia and the United States. Five papers and a discussant explore the vibrancy and variety of opportunities and challenges that are met by rural education leaders (principals, administrators, teachers, and researchers). Presenters illuminate and explore the concept of rural leadership through an educational lens, shedding light into what it means to lead rurally for education policy, research, schools, communities and for the next generation of rural leaders themselves, providing insights into capabilities, approaches, models, and strategies for improving practice and outcomes. The Symposium also introduces the construct of place-serving leadership and explores ways in which it has been infused in various rural education leadership contexts.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Rural Education

Chair

• Jayne Downey, Montana State University

Papers

• Rural Leaders and Education Policy: Innovative Practices for Political Engagement - Daniella Hall Sutherland, University of Vermont

• Leading Schools in Rural Communities: In Search of Collaborative Leadership - Hobart L. Harmon, Professional Consulting and Research Services; Jerry Johnson, East Carolina University

• Principal Leadership and Research as a Situated Ecology of Practices: Education Possibilities in a Diversifying Rural School - Margaret Kettle, Queensland University of Technology

• Emerging Leadership in Rural Education Research: In the Schoolhouse and the Academy - Melyssa Fuqua, University of Melbourne

• Persisting Through Unprecedented Rural Crises: Trauma, Resilience, and Leadership in the Aftermath of Disaster - Jesse Moon Longhurst, Southern Oregon University