This position paper proposes a revisiting of the academic calendar for Ghanaian basic schools, emphasising the need to extend the first-trimester vacation period to better align with sociocultural, economic, and environmental realities. The current first vacation, which runs from late December to early January, overlaps with festive events,…

This chapter focuses on the topic of place-based identity, including how place has both objective and subjective components that are best understood within the system of urbanormativity. This model is then situated within the Reconceptualized Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity and implications for student affairs practices are shared.

Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

There are several indicators (e.g. lower enrollment rates and lower persistence rates) that rural people are achieving less postsecondary success compared to their urban peers. This is particularly true for people with low socioeconomic statuses and people of color. This article, therefore, utilizes critical race theory in education as a framework…

Students based in higher education institutions in rural settings are faced with various challenges. This literature study offers insights into the implication of "rurality" in terms of Higher Education in a rural context, considering student well-being and social work training challenges. It stresses that the University of Zululand has…

Queer* youth from rural areas who attend colleges and universities bring with them prior educational and life experiences that may be different from their urban and suburban peers. This chapter discusses how rurality intersects with sexual orientation and gender identity, and highlights implications for supporting queer students from rural areas.

Anthropogenic climate change is an urgent and pervasive challenge, yet it remains a polarizing subject. In the United States, studies have shown that rural communities tend to view climate change with less urgency than urban communities, which could delay action in response to the crisis. In rural areas that are highly dependent on agricultural…

Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

Urbanormativity assumes the normality of urbane lifestyles, a consequence of living in a society in which most people live in metropolitan areas. Rural students may find their own life experiences underappreciated, but we can include their perspectives and use them to help students to understand their own and others' experiences.

About one in five students in the US attends a rural school, and over half of all school districts are in rural areas. And yet very little is known about achievement, achievement gaps, and academic growth in rural schools, including how school-year and summer changes in achievement may differ in these schools. This lack of information is…

Contrary to Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell's majority opinion in "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez" (1973), Texas's school finance system was the result of years of legislation and state-building that gave some areas the resources and capacity to provide more educational opportunities than others. As this…

This article is part of a year-long series facilitated by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Social Justice Committee (SJC) highlighting the impact of health disparities on youth through a social justice lens for school psychologists. Historical and systemic racism and instructional inequities contribute to mental health…

Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

This chapter provides a portrait of rural community college leaders and identifies leadership priorities and career plans. Findings highlight the differences between rural and urban leaders regarding leadership development, areas of job foci, and career pathways.