Toward a Research Agenda for Rural Education: Discovering the Essence

Three realities (mindscapes) used in constructing knowledge and their traditional research methodologies are discussed as a basis for proposing a research agenda and strategy for rural education. In order to study rural education, the authors propose the use of conceptual empiricism and contextual appraisal consisting of four domains; personal (self), instruction (class), in-stitutional (school), and societal (schooling). Data are collected in each of these domains in order to discover the essence, to 'paint a portrait, ' of the rural school. Within each of these domains, three research tools (currere, hegemony, and connoisseur-ship) are suggested as means of viewing the rural school from a holistic perspective and placing the research emphasis upon emergent patterns rather than manipulated variables. Once the portrait of the rural school is unveiled, then suggestions for improvement (if needed) can be discussed. The portrait of rural America perceived through the nostalgic mindscapes of many educators is synonymous with viewing a Normal Rockwell or Grandma Moses painting or listening to the words of "I Wanna Go Home" sung by Joe South. Rural schools comprise 67C1fo of all schools in America and one-third of all students live in rural America [13]