Login or Register to make a submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • Where available, URLs or DOIs for the references have been provided.
  • The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Author Guidelines

 
To submit your work to The Rural Educator, create an account at https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/ruraleducator/

Research Articles

Research Articles contribute to our understanding of educational issues in rural contexts. Submissions must explicitly address rural education by defining rural and/or by extensively describing the unique rural setting.  Research that happens to be set in a rural setting but does not explicitly addres rural education in review of literature, research question, findings and/or discussion/implications will not be published. Manuscripts for Research Articles are typically approximately 25 pages in length including references. Empirical research articles will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1) Current and sufficient review of literature grounds the study in rural education contexts

2) Research methodology is appropriate and sufficiently described

3) Data analysis and findings/results are appropriate and adequately described

4) Appropriate and thorough discussion of conclusions, implications and lmitations, including implications for rural education

5) Significance of the research for rural education contexts: Does the manuscript support rural schools and communities in their education work? How will this manuscript matter to rural education practitioners, advocates, and researchers? Does this manuscript expand, strengthen, or complicate our understanding of rural education? Does the manuscript avoid stereotypes and add to an understanding of rural places as rich and complex?

6) Clarity of writing (syntax, style, mechancis, organization)

7) Overall level of scholarship 

Promising Practices

Promising Practice Articles

The NEW Promising Practices column highlights effective “boots-on-the-ground” practices with short, easy-to-read articles that tell stories of effective and emerging practices. We are seeking submissions from a variety of voices in educational settings, including teachers, administrators, community leaders, postsecondary institutions, non-profit organizations, and others with experience in rural education. 

Promising Practices should describe the rural educational setting, the practice and its outcomes, and may include reflections on rural education practices. Educators who have found success with particular instructional practices, assessments, collaboration and partnerships, or other educational practices are encouraged to share those experiences with readers of The Rural Educator.

Manuscripts submitted for Promising Practices can take many forms. While there is no length requirement, we encourage the submission of written manuscripts that are 5-7 pages in length (approximately 3000 words). Photographs, illustrations, or work samples can be included.

Promising Practices manuscripts are not sent out for peer review. Instead, the editors will review submissions and make publication decisiuons  based on the following criteria.

  • Overall Description of the Promising Practice: The description of the promising practice is clearly stated and easy to understand; the article tells a story or shares an example of a successful practice
  • Description of the Rural Context: The manuscript describes or explains the rural education setting in which the practice was created and refined. 
  • Level of Detail: Provides specific detail about what was accomplished and its impact so that readers can understand and consider implementing the practice, including concrete, specific, relevant examples from one or more rural education settings.
  • Evidence:  Provides evidence (e.g., outcomes, evaluation data, reflections) that the practice shows promise for rural education
  • Connection to rural: Describes why the practice is particularly relevant or meaningful for rural people, communities, and/or schools. Reviewers can use these questions to consider connections to rural: (1) Does the submission support rural schools and communities? (2) Will this submission matter to rural education practitioners, advocates, and researchers?  (3) Does this submission expand, strengthen, or complicate our understandings of rural education? (4) Does the submission avoid stereotypes and deficit ideologies?
  • Writing: Writing is clear, easy to read and engaging.

If you have any questions about your ideas for a submission to Promising Practices, contact Amy Price Azano at azano@vt.edu.  

Reviews of Research

Reviews of Research synthesize research related to a specific topic within the research priorities outlined in the National Rural Education Association Research Agenda—2016-2021. The purpose of the NREA Research Agenda is to identify broad areas where further study of student experiences in the rural context are essential for building capacity and advancing rural students’ educational attainment. While each priority defined by the NREA Research Agenda may not be uncommon in the field of education, there may be little research in each priority area that explicitly addresses rural education.  For this reason, the editors of The Rural Educator seek Reviews of Research that address priorities in the NREA Research Agenda. Reviews of Research should summarize and synthesize specific topics within one of the NREA Research Priorities and identify gaps in the research as they relate to rural education contexts. Reviews of research are generally 20-30 pages in length, including references.

Reviews of Research will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

´1 )Thoughtfully addresses a significant problem area within one of the ten priority areas of the NREA Research Agenda

´2) Establishes importance of the topic for rural education

´3) Reviews current and seminal research within the topic area

´4) Thoroughly and succinctly summarizes and synthesizes research within the topic area

´5) Explicitly identifies findings and gaps in the literature as they relate to rural education

´6) Makes  thoughtful and appropriate recommendations for future research to advance rural education

´7) Clarity of writing (syntax, style, mechanics, and organization)

Special Issue: Race and Rurality In Schools and Communities

The editors of The Rural Educator, in collaboration with the editors of the Journal of Research in Rural Education and Australian and International Journal of Rural Education recently released a statement regarding our renewed commitment to promote scholarship that addresses the intersection of race and rurality. We believe these words should be followed by action. To that end, we are issuing a call for a special Winter 2022 issue of The Rural Educator focused on research and practice that interrogates how racism operates and is challenged in rural schools and communities. We envision this special issue as a foundation from which we will continue to grow our efforts at recruiting and publishing more diverse scholarship and promising practices in rural education. 

For the Winter 2022 issue, we are particularly interested in scholarship that addresses race and rurality broadly and from diverse perspectives, including a focus on learners, educators, leaders, community issues, resources, and equity policies, across the P-20 spectrum and both school and out-of-school education settings. Research manuscripts should, in some way, interrogate the intersection of race and rurality in rural education settings. We are also interested in publishing brief Promising Practices manuscripts (5-10 pages in length) that focus on instructional efforts aimed at creating more inclusive and equitable learning and work environments in schools and postsecondary institutions. The Promising Practices manuscripts should showcase both the work with which you are engaged and how that work affects learners and educators. 

Deadline for Submissions: April 15, 2021

Publication decisions and feedback to authors: July 15, 2021

Publication: Winter 2022

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.