The Impact of Rural Poverty on Teachers' Perceptions

Rural poverty has been on the rise across New York State over the past decade. This rise in poverty has affected the academic achievement gap in grades three through eight state assessment scores for rural students living in poverty. A majority of the students in Oswego County, New York are from rural environments where academic and social support services are lacking. Rural students living in poverty often begin their academic years at a disadvantage and struggle academically due to the social and emotional stressors caused by poverty combined with weak literacy skills. Since the mandatory 2012 adoption of the Common Core Learning Standards in New York State, which brought increased rigor and complexity of the state assessments, a concern has surfaced regarding the effect of this educational reform on the achievement gap among rural students living in poverty. This research examines (a) the extent of the historical achievement gap on the NY State assessments in grades three through eight for ELA and math in Oswego County, NY; and (b) perceptions surrounding poverty and student achievement. A two-part intervention strategy was examined for closing the achievement gap by (a) using a poverty simulation training as a tool for increasing cultural awareness, and (b) providing professional development for culturally responsive classroom strategies targeting increased academic achievement for rural students living in poverty. This research was not an experimental study design but correlational in design due to sampling constraints. Data collected from the Poverty Perception Instrument following the simulation was analyzed by a Mixed Model ANOVA to determine whether participants had a change in perception surrounding poverty. Results of the testing revealed a shift in perceptions of teachers’ views on poverty as a personal and economic problem. Data collected from the pre- and posttest surveys following the professional development sessions were tested using a series of paired-samples t-tests. Results indicated a shift in teachers’ understanding regarding Big Picture Learning Design and Teaching for Extension and Application of Knowledge as important areas in supporting learning for rural students living in poverty. Results are discussed in view of the effectiveness of these interventions in shifting teachers’ perceptions of students from rural poverty