Introduction: NREA’s Rural Education Research Agenda 2016–2021

In 2016, the National Rural Education Association (NREA) released its Research Agenda 2016–2021 identifying 10 rural education research priorities. At a time in which heightened attention was being given to rural people and places, there were two important goals for articulating a research agenda at the national level for rural education research: first, to elevate the profile of rural education scholarship through demonstrating the profound need for scholarship in key areas of school and district practice and, second, to provide a roadmap for new scholars in the field, both doctoral students and veteran researchers interested in shifting their lines of inquiry toward rural contexts. These research priorities included access to counseling/mental health/chemical dependence services, building the capacity to meet the needs of diverse populations, closing achievement gaps in rural schools, college and career readiness/preparation for postsecondary experiences, data-driven decision-making to improve student educational attainment, studying the effects of poverty on rural education, rural school/family relationships, teacher/leader preparation for rural schools, and technology integration needed to meet the needs of rural schools.

In 2022, NREA released a new research agenda based on a nationwide assessment of rural teacher, leader, and scholar priorities for the next 5 years, the formation of which we are pleased to be able to share in this issue. However, before we move forward with a new agenda, we believe that it is time to take stock of the state of research within these 10 priority areas and to identify new research directions. In addition, recent political, instructional, and health challenges suggest that new research is needed to support rural education in a post–COVID-19 world. In particular, we sought work for this issue that summarized, synthesized, and critiqued the current state of research in an area pertinent to rural education.

Each of the reviews in this themed issue is aligned with one of the 10 priorities from the 2015–2021 research agenda. In considering rural salience, authors were encouraged to address four questions: (1) Does the review support rural schools and communities in their education work? (2) How will this review matter to rural education practitioners, advocates, and researchers? (3) Does this review expand, strengthen, or complicate our understanding of rural education? and (4) Does the review avoid stereotypes of rural places and add to an understanding of rural as rich and complex? (Biddle et al., 2019). As editors of NREA’s scholarly journal, the Rural Educator, these are the questions that we use to assess the salience of scholarly work for rural communities, schools, students, and families.

Authors of research reviews in this issue have taken up a wide range of topics. Rhinesmith and colleagues focus on one of the most pressing issues mentioned by rural educators both in 2016 and in 2022: rural teacher recruitment and retention. While many of the challenges to recruitment faced by rural schools have been discussed for decades, Rhinesmith and colleagues examine the evidence supporting a variety of strategies to counteract these challenges, including financial and housing incentives, grow your own programs, and pipeline programs. Coady and colleagues address another key area of need for many rural districts in their review of the literature on supporting multilingual learners in rural schools and communities, showcasing the need for more research dedicated to this topic as well as the limits of current data sources’ ability to shed light on the needs of these learners.

Articles by McNamee and Ganss and by Agger and colleagues focus on rural college-going and persistence, another area of need identified in both the 2016 and 2022 research agendas. While McNamee and Ganss’ review focuses on rural college-going broadly, Agger and colleagues look specifically at rural college access for Indigenous youth, focusing on what we know about how schools can best support this minoritized population. Both reviews point to the critical role that personal relationships play in assisting rural youth, particularly minoritized youth, in accessing college and navigating the postsecondary transition.

Articles by Sutherland and colleagues and by Zuckerman take up issues critical to supporting rural school and community well-being, including a review of what is known about high-quality rural school leadership practices and the development of cross-sector partnerships between schools and rural stakeholders. Both of these reviews point to the critical role that navigating community power dynamics plays in being able to create and sustain ecologies of support for rural youth and families.

Finally, McHenry-Sorber and colleagues present the 2022–2027 NREA Rural Education Research Agenda, based on a national survey, interviews, and focus groups with rural stakeholders.

These participants are helping to chart the next 5 years of needed rural research. Together, these articles represent the current state of the field, as well as promising and urgent new research priorities that will support rural students, families, educators, and communities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Catharine Biddle

Catharine Biddle is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Maine. Her work focuses on how rural schools anticipate and respond to social and economic changes to community well-being. Her work has been published in the Peabody Journal of Education, the American Journal of Education, the Review of Research in Education, in addition to being recognized by the National Rural Education Association.

Devon Brenner

Devon Brenner is Director of the Social Science Research Center and the Rural Education Research and Initiatives Lab at Mississippi State University. She is also a Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education. Brenner’s research focuses on rural education policy and practice including research in rural teacher preparation and rural critical policy analysis. Brenner is an Editor for the Rural Educator, journal of the National Rural Education Association, and a Cochair of the Whippoorwill Award Committee, which names the best rural young adult and middle grades books each year.

Erin McHenry-Sorber

Erin McHenry-Sorber, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration in the School of Education at West Virginia University. Her research focuses on the structures and policies that influence rural schools and communities, with an emphasis on the practice of leaders in responding to inequities within and across rural school systems. Her recent work includes the development of the National Rural Education Association’s Rural Research Agenda, 2022–2027 as well as research on statewide teacher shortages in West Virginia and a multistate study of the work of rural elementary leaders in responding to spatial and educational inequities. She serves as Coeditor of the Rural Educator. McHenry-Sorber has published research in Rural Sociology, Review of Research in Higher Education, Education Policy Analysis Archives, and Leadership & Policy in Schools, among other journals. McHenry-Sorber holds a PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Educational Leadership, an MEd from Harvard University in Administration, Planning, & Social Policy, and a BSEd from Bucknell University in English Education.