Inclusion In A Rural Midwestern School District

Author : Megan E. Rhodes
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (755 download)

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Download or read book Increased Diversity in Rural Areas written by Megan E. Rhodes and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This qualitative case study examined the ways in which one rural Midwestern high school and its surrounding community responded to increased diversity. The purpose of the study was to explore how teachers, administrators, school staff, and community members in the district understood the character of the community's demographic changes and the influences of these changes on the academic and social life of the school. The school's responses to increasing community diversity were of particular importance to the study. Data collection included hour-long interviews with 34 participants, document analysis, and observations. Data were analyzed using a three-step process: initial coding, linking codes in conceptually coherent categories, and theme building. Data analysis revealed three themes. First, educators and community members exhibited class biases toward poor students and their families. Second, educators and community members conflated race and ethnicity with social class, expressing many of the same negative beliefs about minority students as they did about poor students. These respondents displayed deficit thinking toward poor and minority students and blamed these students' cultural backgrounds for their low levels of academic engagement and performance. Third, a small group of change agents in the school and community advocated for poor and minority students, but they encountered the apathy and resistance of most educators and many community members. The findings of this study fit with earlier literature about demographic change in rural areas. This literature revealed that social tensions and biases often resulted from shifting demographics in rural communities and schools. In addition, previous work on educators' tendency to view low-socioeconomic status and minority students from a deficit perspective were similar to the perspectives voiced by the educators who participated in this study. Furthermore, some critical literature on poverty training supported the study's finding that educators' biases were compounded by their participation in professional development workshops that purported to offer "poverty training". The report of the study concluded with several recommendations for educators who work in increasingly diverse rural schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest llc. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.].