The NREA Rural Research Agenda 2022-2027: An Examination of the Research Process and Findings

ABSTRACT

This article presents the National Rural Education Association’s Rural Research Agenda 2022–2027. In order to determine rural stakeholders’ perspectives of research priorities, data collection included 328 surveys, six focus groups with 43 participants, and nine interviews with rural education practitioners, leaders, and policymakers. From a grounded theory methodological framework, findings revealed a core category of educational and spatial equity, surrounded by five additional interconnected themes: college and career trajectory; community partnerships and relationships; health and wellness; policy and funding; and teacher/leader recruitment, retention, and preparation. A call to action, the research findings point to a need for rural education research that centers educational and spatial equity while also recognizing the intersectional nature of the agenda’s five supporting themes. The five-year agenda charts a path for rural education research that is focused on addressing rural education challenges while highlighting innovative rural practices that are transferable across locales.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Represented states in each region: Northeast: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania; South: District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota; West: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Caifornia, Oregon, Washington.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erin McHenry-Sorber

Erin McHenry-Sorber, PhD, is an 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 co-editor 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.

Catharine Biddle

Catharine Biddle is an 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, and Review of Research in Education, in addition to being recognized by the National Rural Education Association.

Pamela J. Buffington

Pamela Buffington, PhD, Director of Rural STEM Initiatives at Education Development Center, focuses on bridging research and practice with STEM educators and policymakers, particularly in rural schools and districts. Dr. Buffington provides outreach, needs sensing, technical assistance, and dissemination to educational leaders and stakeholders for the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Dr. Buffington also leads the work of the Rural Research Advisors where she supports research in rural schools and communities and served on the Cross-REL Rural Working Group. Buffington has led the Student Success in Mathematics Partnership (SSMP) for REL Appalachia, concentrating on mathematics success for all learners. The current work includes leading knowledge utilization of evidence-based research, including the application of IES mathematics-focused Practice Guides, with practitioners and educational leaders in West Virginia. Dr. Buffington is a Co-PI on a rural computer science RPP and an advisor on the NSF-funded WeatherX project implemented in rural schools.

Sara L. Hartman

Sara L. Hartman, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education in The Patton College of Education at Ohio University. Her research focuses on school-community-university partnerships, particularly in examining how partnerships impact access and opportunity in rural educational settings. Dr. Hartman is a co-author on the last two editions of Why Rural Matters, reports that highlight the challenges and successes of rural schools across the United States, and a co-developer of the National Rural Education Association Research Agenda–2022-2027. Most recently, she is the co-editor of The Middle of Somewhere: Rural Education Partnerships and Innovation. She is the co-founder of the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery and is a Faculty Coordinator for a Professional Development School partnership. Before working with teacher candidates, she was a classroom teacher.

J. Kessa Roberts

J. Kessa Roberts is an assistant professor of Instructional Leadership in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. Her research focuses on educational leadership and policy in the contexts of rural education and crisis and pays particular attention to the role of various stakeholders, including students and families, in educational policy and practice.

Sarah Schmitt-Wilson

Sarah Schmitt-Wilson is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Montana State University. She grew up in rural Nebraska but now lives in a farmhouse in Montana. Her research focuses on understanding factors related to teachers’ decisions to teach in rural schools, the educational aspirations of adolescents and educational attainment of young adults from rural communities, and factors influencing the decisions of young adults to move to rural communities. Her work has been published in the Journal of Research in Rural Education, the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, The Rural Educator, and The Journal of Rural and Community Development.