Pedagogy of Pride in Rural Schools: A Review of Rural Education & Queer Identities

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Queer Pedagogies and Leading The Future: Rurality and Discontinuity

Abstract

Scholarship on rural education and Queer identities notes fewer resources, higher levels of victimization, adult biases, disengaged youth, and harmful policies. Rural Education and Queer Identities (2025) is a forty-one-chapter collection of research and personnel narrative exploring the complex intersections of rural education and Queerness. Using a content analysis approach, we theorized a pedagogy of pride for rural schools based on common themes in the book. Four pillars of pride were identified: validating Queer and trans existence in rural schools, resisting cis-heteronormativity and refuting Queerphobia, prioritizing for the inclusion and wellbeing of all rural youth, and uplifting rural Queer literacies. This pedagogy supports Queer youth and educators while disrupting monolithic narratives of rural and Queer experiences grounded in educational liberation.

Authors

• Amy Price Azano, Virginia Tech

• Clint D. Whitten, Virginia Tech