Country Teachers in City Schools

Chea Parton works at Purdue University as visiting faculty in curriculum and instruction.

Parton describes how the identities of seven educators have been shaped by their connections to their rural/rustic upbringings. She integrates theory behind place-based, place-conscious experiences and pedagogies as they relate to the development of personal and professional identities. Parton explains through the lens and artifacts of teacher participants the complicated nature of identity formation: the perceived necessity of leaving a location in order to change; the acceptance of and resistance to deficit-framed rural stereotypes; and ongoing feelings of belonging or lack of belonging. Through Parton’s use of the participants’ words and her analysis, the reader understands how complex this navigation of identity within rural, suburban, and urban contexts is, especially in a field that often focuses on identity specifically in an urban setting. Parton advocates for expanded and more effective teacher training programs and professional development for educators as they work to integrate their rural identities while enacting practices that are culturally responsive and sustaining for the communities in which they teach. Each chapter provides place-based takeaways for educators to use for themselves or with students. Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

• ContentsList of Tables and FiguresForeword by Gregory Fulkerson and Alexander ThomasAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Place, Identity, and PurposeChapter 2: Building (Non)Rural IdentitiesChapter 3: Portraits of Complexity: Place-Connected IdentityChapter 4: Language as Rural IdentityChapter 5: Place and Landscape as IdentityChapter 6: Understandings of Race and Racism in Rural Schools and CommunitiesChapter 7: Place(s) as Pedagogy in the ELA ClassroomChapter 8: Developing Place-Conscious TeachersChapter 9: Rural Futures and Out-Migrant VisibilityReferencesAbout the Author