Disrupting Rural Systemic Inequity to Serve the Needs of Historically Marginalized Gifted Students

• In Event: Making Learning Accessible to Rural Students: Critical Approaches to Access and Pedagogy

Abstract

142 of the state’s 178 school districts (82%) are rural. 7.7% of K-12 students are identified as Gifted. White students are significantly overrepresented; students of color, emerging bilingual students, and economically underresourced students are significantly underrepresented. The study’s research question was: What attitudes/beliefs and practices of rural school/district leaders effectively support processes that disrupt systemic inequity and improve student learning?

Despite a relentless focus on the effect of the achievement gap on urban students, limited research has been conducted on leaders of rural schools and districts and their influence on student learning. 68% of rural schools report significant achievement gaps (Barrett, Cowen, Toma, & Troske, 2015), but few rural leaders report that they know how to eliminate them.

Authors

• Kristina Astrid Hesbol, University of Denver

• Norma L. Hafenstein, University of Denver

• Lindsey Reinert, University of Denver