APPALACHIAN TEACHING PROJECT: Sustaining the Community Mind for Long-term Community Resiliency: Appalachian Values Assessment in Floyd County, Virginia

PLEASE NOTE: This submission assumes that APPALACHIAN TEACHING PROJECTS could both 1) give an oral presentation (submission already made under the same title), and 2) put their posters on display (this submission). This abstract for the poster is the same abstract as for the presentation (previously submitted). Floyd County Virginia’s Land Policy Task Force found that “What Matters Most” to Floyd County residents was “preservation of rural character, Appalachian heritage, and community identity.” This Appalachian Teaching Project (ATP) is researching what residents want to preserve and studying perceptions of potential threats to those values. Recent social science research has highlighted “narrative” and the identification of “core values” as critical elements that help sustain communities affected by cultural and economic change and persistent negative stereotyping. Better understanding Floyd County’s history and heritage (and defining what residents mean by that) will buttress a foundation for a positive trajectory. In the words of the Floyd County Development Director, “it would allow for going beyond simply reacting to outside stressors as they arise. From a land planning and economic perspective, it would be valuable to know these answers.” The Project and the course in which it is embedded is teaching student researchers the skills to become more effective community leaders who understand the importance of community values. As globalization and culture change continue apace in the region, long-term sustainability requires sophisticated culturally-aware leadership with the skills to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their communities and to predict the effects of changes. These future leaders will “strengthen the capacity of Appalachian people to compete in the global economy,” in the words of the ATP sponsor, the Appalachian Regional Commission