What next for rural education research?

Abstract

Where are we going in rural education research? Looking at the field over the last decade indicates an overwhelming focus on preparing teachers for rural schools, a concern on rural student achievement, on access to higher education (e,g. Bradley, 2008) and on high-stakes testing (e.g. Gonski, 2011) . While these streams of research are important, they are bound by a view of rural schooling as lacking and disadvantaged vis a vis their metropolitan counterparts. In the process the rural is often ‘othered’ in comparison to a metropolitan norm.