Sociology of Rural Schools and Communities

Catalog description

This course examines the interrelationships between rural communities and their schools. In the Unites States schools are the backbone of rural communities. Rural schools help to shape the local boundaries of communities and the identity of community members in a variety of both formal and informal ways. Drawing heavily from published empirical research, this course provides a solid theoretical foundation in community sociology in order to investigate the interrelationships between rural communities and rural schools. Orienting questions include: In what ways might we consider "rural" as a meaningful category in understanding both community and education? In what ways do schools shape (or reshape) the structure of communities? How do communities shape (or reshape) the structure of education? What are the challenges that confront the vitality of both rural schools and communities? How have these challenges changed over time, and what are the implications for educators, residents, and public policy makers? The course is strongly interdisciplinary, with material drawing from education, sociology and rural sociology, economics, anthropology, geography and demography.