Browsing by Subject "Rural"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    Beyond Urbanization: (Un)sustainable Geographies and Young People's Literature
    (2021-05) Kleese, Nick
    The Anthropocene is an epoch of ecological destruction. It is also a conceptual apparatus that denotes the various systems that entail this destruction (Clifford, 2013). Of these systems, urbanization—as both a social system and cultural value—retains popular and scholarly focus as a welcomed geographical expression of a sustainable, global human society (Heldke, 2006). This attention masks the environmental and social extraction that occurs in rural geographies (Ching and Creed, 1997; Cervone, 2017), as well this destruction’s inequitable impacts within and across these geographies (Bullard, 2005; Martinez-Aller, 2014). Drawing on methodologies of Marxist cultural analysis (Williams, 1963), I explore the relationship between urbanization processes and the ways rural ecologies are represented in literature for young people. I supplement literary analysis with interview data with young rural readers, sociological data, and environmental data. With insights offered by Marxist ecology (Marx, 1894; Foster, 2000), postcolonial ecology (Guha, 2013; Whyte, 2017) and critical geography (Soja, 2010; Brenner, 2019), I argue that fictionalized representations of rurality in young people’s literature inadvertently distance readers from the ecological realities playing out in the geographies they purport to depict. Still, more recent works of literature for young people that depict rural characters engaging in ecological activism and solidarity may suggest an emergent, critical, geographically-attuned sensibility. Inspired by these works, I suggest that careful reflection on the geographical valences of the Anthropocene reveals possibilities for more plural, inclusive, and ecologically-attuned societies featuring youth immersion in and attention to rural places as sites worthy of their labor and joy.
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    Civic identity and transnationalism in rural Minnesota
    (2014-08) Thompson, Jessamay Rose
    This embedded case study was conducted in two racial and culturally diverse seventh grade Civics classrooms taught by the same teacher at a small town high school in rural Minnesota. Beginning in the 1990s, the high school and community experienced a rapid demographic change due to immigration. This study examined how young people from various cultural backgrounds (Bosnian, Latino, Vietnamese, and White) living in the town construct and negotiate their civic identity. Data were collected over the course of five months, from October 2013 through February 2014. I utilized qualitative research methods, including interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis, with the purpose to investigate how the curriculum, instruction, classroom climate, social interactions, family, and cultural backgrounds factor into how youth living in a rural community conceptualize their civic identity. Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1988) ecological model of human development, transnationalism (Ong, 1999) and imagined communities (Anderson, 1983) form the framework that guides this study.
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    CYFC Consortium Connections, Spring 2001, Vol 10, No 2
    (Children, Youth & Family Consortium, 2001) Children, Youth & Family Consortium
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    CYFC Consortium Connections, Spring 2004, Vol 13, No 1
    (Children, Youth & Family Consortium, 2004) Children, Youth & Family Consortium
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    Educational Migrations: A Critical Narrative Study of Educational Movement in a Rural Southeast Michigan Community.
    (2019-07) Joubert, Ezekiel
    This dissertation is on the formation of educational movement in a rural Southeast Michigan community. I examine black community strategies for engaging in educational processes that involve student movement, to better understand historical struggles for equal education and interrogate the educational structures that reproduce racial capitalist social relations. Drawing from critical educational scholarship, black intellectual thought in education, spatial-economic theories, critical narrative and African American and black studies, I document how twenty black rural residents, ages 21-96, engaged in and imagined school related migrations. I used interviews and locally sourced archival materials to trace the impact of schooling in a racial capitalist society (Robinson, 1983), at the intersections of the rural question, race/racism, social mobility and labor, in a region central to the national imagining of American progress and development. Shaped by the Great Migration and deindustrialization of Metropolitan Detroit, their critical narratives (Goodson & Gill, 2014) demonstrate how school district remapping, choice reforms, vocational training and tracking (ostensible solutions for marginalized communities) contribute to further segregation and structural inequality. I contend that their organizing, collaborations, and art/literary practices provide insights for developing and employing cooperative and collective educational responses to the ways schools participate in social stratification, racial-spatial discrimination, and the uneven redistribution of resources. This research offers pedagogical and curricular implications for transforming and complicating educational discourse and practice that simply associate the movement of predominantly poor and/or black children across neighborhood, district, and county borders with equality and upward mobility.
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    Essential Voices: The Lived Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Individuals in a Rural Midwestern School
    (2020-12) Abrahamson, Heather
    Homophobia, transphobia, and heteronormativity are prevalent and damaging forces in the world. Employing a thematic topic analysis of available research on these structures, I argue that empirical research, especially in rural areas, has been neglected and is incomplete. Drawing from interview data with ten lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students, five teachers, and three administrators, this work seeks to contribute to the much-needed research surrounding homophobia, transphobia, and heteronormativity in one rural school. This dissertation also employs a composite narrative methodology (Willis, 2019), which details the lived experiences in narratives of Jamie, Charlie, and Justice. It also employs space, spatial justice, feminism, and antivillainification as theories for analysis.
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    Evaluation Practice in Rural Areas: A Vertical Case Study of Evaluation in Three Minnesota Districts
    (2016-08) Ostgaard, Gayra
    The larger purpose of this study was to highlight educational evaluation mandates, practices, and their implementation and impact in a rural context. This was done by examining rural schools that were involved in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) because PLCs are often required to do evaluation activities for accountability purposes and also have evaluation processes central to their functioning. This research aimed to map out evaluation activities and influences through the analysis of PLC initiatives in three Greater MN school districts and schools. A vertical case study design created a rich description of evaluation practices. The researcher spoke with participants at each level of PLC functioning (state, region, local administration, and classroom), which allowed on the unearthing of similarities and differences in understandings of evaluation. This research illustrated that “evaluation” meant different things to different people. It seems that these differences depended on what level they worked at, their involvement with state initiatives, and how directly they worked with students. Generally speaking, state mandates had a large influence on people’s understandings of evaluation, and evaluation done for accountability purposes was not seen as useful or valued as much as evaluation done for self-identified goals and program improvement. Participants tended to focus more on organizational factors that affected evaluation practice than on individual factors. Organizational factors that impacted evaluation practice included, but were not limited to: (a) the size of the district/school, (b) local leadership, (c) time, and (d) the movement towards standards-based grading.
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    Experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance misuse disorders: the voices of rural older adults
    (2013-02) McKinley, Kathryn J.
    This exploratory qualitative study investigated the perspectives of rural older adults who experience co-occurring mental health and substance misuse disorders. These disorders co-occur frequently and have serious consequences. Risk and protective factors have been identified for older adults with co-occurring disorders. A treatment model addressing the specific needs of rural older adults with co-occurring disorders has not been developed. The literature does not reflect the views of rural older adults about their experiences with these disorders, treatment, or recovery. Critical theory was employed to examine the inattention to co-occurring disorders in rural older adults. Resilience theory facilitated understanding participants’ strength in coping with these disorders. Grounded theory was used to develop theory throughout the exploration and analysis of rural older adults’ perceptions of their experiences. Data consisted of in-depth qualitative interviews collected from older adults living in rural Iowa who identified as having co-occurring disorders. Interviews with 23 older adults ages 55 to 90 living in rural Iowa explored their perceptions of experience with co-occurring disorders; the responses of family, providers, and community; treatment and recovery; and policy issues. The analysis reveals that older adults experience multiple individual, community, and structural service risks to develop co-occurring disorders. Individual resilience, supportive relationships, and treatment lead to recovery. The treatment model developed from the analysis focuses on principles of treatment; prevention that provides information for individuals, family, community, and providers; and integrated treatment that includes older adult role models, responds to the needs of older adults, and is accessible to those living in rural communities. The study concludes that in spite of risks and lack of appropriate prevention and treatment, rural older adults with co-occurring disorders exhibit resilience that can be supported through culturally relevant prevention and treatment. Barriers and risks need to be addressed at individual, community, and service structure levels. Stigma about `co-occurring disorders, age, and rural communities contributes to the absence of appropriate services. Implications for social work education and practice, policy, and research are noted.
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    On the Frontier: Exploring Rural Psychologist Practice in Integrated Behavioral Health Care
    (2018-08) Allen, Tom
    Research on psychologists in integrated behavioral health care (IBHC) remains sparse (McDaniel et al., 2014) and appears non-existent for rurally located psychologists. A study of doctoral-level licensed psychologists practicing in rurally located IBHC settings was conducted. The study had three main objectives: to understand the nature of the work of rural psychologists in IBHC, to explore what impacts the rural and IBHC setting have on psychologists, and to identify the characteristics that psychologists perceive as important for working effectively in rurally located IBHC settings. Eight participants completed in-person semi-structured interviews. A qualitative methodological approach using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) (Hill et al., 2005) focused on accumulating information-rich data that may be relevant (Packer, 2010) to the practice of rurally located IBHC psychologists. The examination resulted in seven domains, including nine general categories, 14 typical categories, and six variant categories. Major findings correspond with established descriptions of integrated care (McDaniel et al., 2014; American Psychological Association [APA], 2008) and include collaboration as integral and close physical proximity to other medical team members as important. Related to the rural setting, results provide a point of integration for understanding the experiences of being both rurally located and an IBHC psychologist. Findings correspond with the experiences of rural psychologists reported in the literature (Cordes, 1989; Hogan, 2003; DeLoen, 1989). Finally, results provide a point of illumination for better understanding characteristics seen as important to working effectively in rurally located IBHC. Providing an intimate portrait of rural IBHC practice, findings combine notions of rural practice and integrated health care, while extending views on rurally located IBHC practice. The results hold practical implications for psychologists in rurally located IBHC settings. Of particular interest are the unique roles a psychologist has in these settings, the ethical issues that emerge within integrated care, and the characteristics deemed important for being successful in these settings. Limitations and future considerations are discussed.
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    Rural family caregiving for children with complex chronic conditions: a grounded theory study.
    (2012-06) Rose, Diane Kay
    Although rural families of children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) face many of the same caregiving challenges urban families face, they may face additional, unique challenges. Geographical distance from specialists limits access to care and can contribute to compartmentalization of services and increased strain on the family. Relatively little is known about how rural family caregivers of children with CCCs manage complex care without many of the resources that are available to urban families. Previous research on family caregiving for children with CCCs has focused primarily on urban and suburban families; rural families have been underrepresented. The aims of this study were to (a) identify and describe how rural family caregivers manage caregiving for children with complex chronic conditions, and (b) develop a theoretical model of rural family caregiving for children with complex chronic conditions. Principles of family-centered care and an ecological perspective provided the conceptual framework for this grounded theory study. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine primary family caregivers of children with CCCs who resided in rural counties in northwestern Minnesota. Analysis of data led to identification of the central category, Managing with Limited Resources, and development of a theoretical model of rural family caregiving for children with CCCs. Recommendations are made for improving care to children with CCCs and their families in rural, underserved areas.
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    Small Farms Initiative
    (2010) Arlt, Timothy; Wieland, Betsy; Winter, Nathan; Carlson, Brad; Martens, Dan; Haugen-Brown, Tana; Herzfeld, Dean; Foord, Karl; Wilsey, David; Martin, Wayne; Waters, Katherine; Kieser, Laura; Nelson, Beth; Gustafson, Kent; Postels, Brenda
    Establish the infrastructure for a vibrant Small Farms initiative to address the growing number of small farms in Minnesota. This includes publications, curriculums, events, activities, communications, web resources, and staff and professional development. This project will also work to identify potential funding sources and partners.