On the digital frontier: Stakeholders in rural areas take on educational technology and schooling

Abstract

Even in the most remote U.S. rural contexts today technology is a part of schooling. This article explores stakeholders’ perceptions of educational technology as it relates to schooling in six rural districts in the state of Idaho. Stakeholder descriptions were collected using sondeo style focus groups with seven specific groups (students, parents, teachers, support staff, community members, principals, boards, and superintendents) in each district (n = 42). Stakeholders believe the educational technology in their schooling environments is both necessary and welcome in their districts; however, their assessments indicated that despite a decades-long policy push aimed at increasing educational equity, augmenting schooling facilities with technology presents complex resourcing challenges. The conclusion explores how different experiences and conceptualizations of context shape individuals’ understanding and implementation of educational technology. We argue that a more contextualized view of technology-oriented change is needed. One that better positions rural place as something to be protected (as opposed to overcome) in order to leverage the best of both what technology and place have to offer in changing rural communities.

Keywords:

• Education technology
• rural education
• distance education
• telecommunications policy
• education policy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Wargo

Elizabeth Wargo is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Idaho. She researches issues relating to education innovation, leadership, and change. Elizabeth aims to help practitioners and policymakers make informed decisions about systematic change that acknowledge local strengths and global possibilities.

Davin Carr Chellman

Davin Carr Chellman is an Associate Professor of Education in the Adult, Organizational Learning and Leadership Program at the University of Idaho. His research focuses on individual and organizational capacity building through the lens of adult learning.

Kathleen Budge

Kathleen Budge brings a blend of 26 years of practical experience as a teacher and administrator combined with more than a decade of work dedicated to bridging the gap between the university and the teaching profession. She is an associate professor of Educational Leadership in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Department at Boise State University, where her research focus on poverty, rural education, school improvement, and leadership development. She is co-author (with William Parrett) of many award-winning and best selling resources related to the topic of poverty and the “whole child.”

Kathryn Canfield Davis

Kathy Canfield-Davis, Ph.D., has a professional career that spans K-12 and higher education. Within K-12, she has been a teacher, special education director, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. She is an associate professor of Educational Leadership and is the department chair for Leadership and Counseling in the University of Idaho, College of Education, Health and Human Services. Her scholarship focuses on social justice and school improvement.