PME-NA

Design of a National Survey of Middle Grades Mathematics Educators in Rural Contexts

• In Event: Poster Session #1
  In Poster Session: Design of a National Survey of Middle Grades Mathematics Educators in Rural Contexts

Description

Students in rural areas historically perform at lower levels in mathematics than their suburban peers and consistently have fewer advanced mathematics opportunities, while teachers often receive less professional support (Banilower et al., 2018). This project examines mathematics education in rural middle schools through a four-stage process: a national survey, educator interviews, professional development implementation, and policy analysis. Specifically, this proposal focuses on Stage One—the national survey—which elicits information on curriculum resources, instructional practices, and educator preparedness. We describe the survey development process, designed to collect data from 850 teachers and 150 administrators. We describe the process of participant recruitment to ensure a nationally representative sample. Findings inform future research and policy initiatives to improve rural mathematics education.

Authors

• Julie Amador, University of Idaho

• Jeffrey Choppin, University of Rochester

• Daniel Heck, Horizon Research, Inc.