Why Rural Schools Matter

Tieken, M. C. (2014). Why rural schools matter. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 236 pp. ISBN 978-1-4696-1848-7Despite the fact that nearly 51 million students in the United States receive their education in rural communities, rural educational research has suffered from a dearth of publications when compared to research on urban education (Tieken, p. 6). However, Mara Casey Tieken's (2014) contribution, Why Rural Schools Matter, provides an excellent example of scholarship that will lead to greater interest in and understanding of the field of rural education. Specifically, this work focuses on the role that rural schools have in determining the relationship between education and race. In the post-integration South, the histories of many communities are tainted by slow and agonizing adherence to the Brown v. Board decision (Tieken, 2014). Furthermore, the African American struggle has had significant effects on the delicate relationship that Whites and Blacks have shared in the post-segregation South. Such rural stories need to be told.A graduate of Harvard University and former rural school teacher, Tieken explains the value of rural schools to their communities. She also describes the influence that these schools wield in shaping racial dynamics in their communities and how each respective community in her study is sustained by the rural school experience. In this process, she reveals that many rural schools are fraught with complex problems that require creative answers and a signi fi cant understanding of the issues that shape the discourses of politicians, economists, teachers, and citizens within rural communities.Drawing on qualitative data collected in two Arkansas towns, Delight and Earle, Tieken illustrates the forces that are shaping the debates on education: the governmental standardized approach to solving educational problems and the local forces that determine local school policies. Tieken locates her study within the paradigm of portraiture. Portraiture is a qualitative research method that requires researchers to reflect on conversations, observations, and interactions with the subject or topic that they are studying. More specifically, Tieken used portraiture to explicitly examine the relationships of schools and their communities by focusing attention to the context of interviews and observations to interpret meaning. As such, Tieken is fulfilling what Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis (1997) called for when they urged researchers to co-create narratives with participants and to examine phenomena in a social context. By immersing herself in the communities that she studied, Tieken was able to describe in detail the relationships that she created with community and school members as well as "investigate the meaning community members give to their schools and explore how these understandings correspond and differ" (p. 30). Further, Tieken used portraiture to clarify meaning through the shared experiences of individuals and the creation of communal value attached to their respective schools.The first community that Tieken investigated, Delight, appears to be a town in which White interests dominate the ebb and flow of the community. The school is a crucial element of Delight's identity, as most residents are either directly involved in the affairs of the school board or have children that attend the school. Tieken notes that "the schools is more than a job or an institution, it's an identity" (p. 65). To Delight's citizens, the rural school defines the town's identity by "providing shared symbols and traditions, perpetuating a set of common values, and establishing clear boundaries" (p. 65). While the Delight community and school maintain a shared culture, Tieken frames the community within a larger discussion among scholars regarding the importance of rural communities in a transitioning society. Over the last 60 years, Southern communities have faced myriad challenges. …