Abstract
This chapter explores the state of rural science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and its importance to rural communities today. After defining “rural,” barriers to rural STEM students are discussed as “student barriers,” “institutional barriers,” and “societal barriers,” including poverty, underfunding, lack of internet, lack of role models, drug and alcohol abuse, and the exodus of students leaving rural areas for jobs. Battling the barriers and improving the access of opportunities for rural STEM students, the author supports Marietta and Marietta's (2020) analysis of STEM education in rural schools and examines its use in rural school districts with a summary and practical experience from the author. The chapter culminates with advice for “rural practitioners” or anyone who is employed or looking employment with rural school districts in STEM fields about how to be successful and make a difference for students in a rural school.
TopWhy Is Rural So Important?
Rural America may have been spared the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic (Smith, 2020) in sheer numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, but it has been ravaged as a global marketplace, an economy, and advances in technology. This is especially evident in the school systems of rural America. Public school students from rural areas are at a decided disadvantage when it comes to exploring careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that require a strong foundation (Smith, 2020), and these careers cannot be ignored when the demand for them is estimated to surpass the current supply by 1 million jobs (Smith, 2020).
The rural population of America is extremely important because though urban populations are changing, the rural population has stayed very consistent (Marietta & Marietta, 2020). By the year 2015, about 19% of the population lived rurally, but that was over sixty million people including 13 million children under the age of eighteen. By 2020, (Dobis et al., 2021), 14% of the U.S. population was classified as rural, which included 46 million residents.
Though there are so many people in America and around the globe that live in rural areas, the perception of how rural people live (in America) is seldom portrayed accurately by the media or the political realm (Marietta & Marietta, 2020). Often misunderstood by people who have never lived in these areas and never encountered the challenges and successes, the ‘rural experience’ is mostly biased and misinterpreted by outsiders to wider society. Accurate portrayals of life in rural areas need to be honestly accounted for in citizens’ own voices to battle the barriers to opportunities that exist by the many people living there.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Appalachian: A native or resident of the Appalachian mountain area, considered a separate culture made up of many unique backgrounds all blended together across the region.
Professional Learning Community: A group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students.
Digital Divide: The gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet, and those who do not.
College Credit Plus: The state of Ohio’s dual enrollment programs that lets students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to earn college and high school credits at the same time by taking courses from Ohio colleges or universities.
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Out-of-School Time: A supervised program that young people regularly attend when school is not in session.
Google Classroom©: A learning management system used by public schools at no cost to them that helps students access their grades, assignments, and classes online.
Place-Based Learning: Immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science through participation in service projects for the local school or community.