Myths and Realities of Rural Schools. The Voice of Families and Teachers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.28-3.18446Keywords:
Family, grouped rural schools, multigrade classrooms, rural areas, rural schools, SDG 4, early childhood education, elementary educationAbstract
Introduction. By invoking Shakespeare’s famous query, ‘to be or not to be, that is the question,’ this study examines rural schools by exploring the beliefs and myths surrounding them and contrasting these perceptions with the realities of daily life in 6 unitary rural schools located in the northwest of Spain. Aims. This study aims to listen to and shed light on the perspectives and feelings of families and teachers in rural schools with multi-grade classrooms. Method. Using a multiple case study design and triangulating qualitative instruments (photovoice, incomplete sentence prompts, and observation), we analyzed the evaluations and experiences of 76 families and 18 teachers concerning the context, the educational practice, and the internal sphere of rural schools. The data were processed through content analysis using ATLAS.ti 22 software, resulting in the identification of 8 categories and 3 dimensions: space and resources, coexistence, teaching and learning in rural schools. Results. The findings reveal several myths and idealizations held by teachers and families regarding the following aspects: the natural rural environment; facilities, infrastructures, resources, and services; coexistence; individualisation, multi-grade classrooms, and academic performance in rural schools. Conclusions. The study concluded that some of these myths do not align with the actual conditions of the studied environment. Rural schools can offer authentic, high-quality learning experiences on equal terms with other educational institutions, dependent on the mediation of the teaching teams that work in them. The study allows for reflection and provides information not only to visibility of rural schools and empower them but also to make decisions enable their educational improvement.
References
Abós Olivares, P. (2020). La escuela ubicada en territorios rurales: Una escuela diferente, un reto pedagógico. Aula, 26, 41-52. http://dx.doi.org/10.14201/aula2020264152
Abós, P., Boix, R., & Bustos, A. (2014). Una aproximación al concepto pedagógico de aula multigrado. Aula, (229), 12-17. https://www.educacion.navarra.es/documents/27590/1754430/Una+aproximaci%C3%B3n+al+concepto+pedag%C3%B3gico+de+aula+multigrado.pdf/cd68028e-b044-7a9c-9134-a0c4f425bdba
Abós Olivares, P., Torres Sabaté, C., & Fuguet Busquets, J. (2017). Aprendizaje y escuela rural: La visión del alumnado. Sinéctica, (49), 1-17. https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665-109X2017000200006
Álvarez Álvarez, C., García-Prieto, F. J., & Pozuelos-Estrada, F. J. (2020). Entorno, centros y comunidad de escuelas rurales del norte (Cantabria) y sur de España (Huelva). Contextos Educativos, (26), 177-196. https://doi.org/10.18172/con.4564
Bagley, C. & Hillyard, S. (2014). Rural schools, social capital and the big society: A theoretical and empirical exposition. British Educational Research Journal, 40(1), 63-78. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3026
Beach, D., Johansson, M., Öhrn, E., Rönnlund, M., & Per-Åke, R. (2019). Rurality and education relations: Metro-centricity and local values in rural communities and rural schools. European Educational Research Journal, 18(1), 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904118780420
Bernal Agudo, J. L. (2009). Luces y sombras en la escuela rural. UNIZAR
Buscà Donet, F., Domingo Peñafiel, L., & Boix Tomás, R. (2018). Incidencia de la metodología en la evaluación de las competencias básicas en la escuela rural: El caso de la competencia lingüística. Didacticae, (4), 108-125. https://doi.org/10.1344/did.2018.4.108-125
Cardenal Salazar, L., Dueñas Jiménez, M., Capellán Romero, L. M., Morillas Vallejo, M. C., Leralta Piñán, O., López Hernáez, J., Pintor García, T., & Ramírez Álvarez, L. (Coods.). (2019). Buenas prácticas en la escuela rural: La mirada de las familias. CEAPA. https://www.ceapa.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BUENAS-PRACTICAS-EN-LA-ESCUELA-RURAL.-LA-MIRADA-DE-LAS-FAMILIAS-DEFINITIVO.pdf
Cornish, L. (2006). Multi-age practices and multi-grade classes. En L. Cornish (Ed.), Reaching EFA through multi-grade teaching. Issues, contexts and practices. (pp. 27-48). Kardoorair Press.
del Moral Pérez, M. E., Villalustre Martínez, L., & Neira Piñeiro, M. del R. (2014). Oportunidades de las TIC para la innovación educativa en las escuelas rurales de Asturias. Aula Abierta, 42(1), 61-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0210-2773(14)70010-1
Domingo Peñafiel, L. & Boix Tomás, R. (2018). Escuela graduada y escuela multigrado: Una dicotomía a superar en el siglo XXI. Cuadernos de Pedagogía, (496), 84-89.
Doval, M. I., Martinez-Figueira, M. E., & Raposo, M. (2013). La voz de sus ojos: La participación de los escolares mediante Fotovoz. Revista de Investigación en Educación, 11(3), 150-171. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4735528
Galván Mora, L. (2020). Educación rural en América Latina: Escenarios, tendencias y horizontes de investigación. Márgenes. Revista de Educación de la Universidad de Málaga, 1(2), 48-69. https://doi.org/10.24310/mgnmar.v1i2.8598
García Matiaci, L. (2019). Aportaciones y retos de la escuela rural. En L. Cardenal Salazar, M. Dueñas Jiménez, L. M. Capellán Romero, M. C. Morillas Vallejo, O. Leralta Piñán, J. López Hernáez, T. Pintor García, & L. Ramírez Álvarez (Coords.), Buenas prácticas en la escuela rural: La mirada de las familias (pp. 10-19). CEAPA. https://www.ceapa.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BUENAS-PRACTICAS-EN-LA-ESCUELA-RURAL.-LA-MIRADA-DE-LAS-FAMILIAS-DEFINITIVO.pdf
González Rodríguez, J. A., Bernad Cavero, O., López Teulón, M. P., Llevot Calvet, N., & Marín Marquilles, R. (2021). Las escuelas rurales desde sus debilidades hasta sus fortalezas: Análisis actual. Ehquidad International Welfare Policies and Social Work Journal, (15), 135-160. https://doi.org/10.15257/ehquidad.2021.0006
Hamodi, C. (2014). La escuela rural: Ventajas, inconvenientes y reflexiones sobre sus falsos mitos. Palobra, (14), 44-59. https://doi.org/10.32997/2346-2884-vol.14-num.14-2014-48
Hargreaves, E. (2001). Assessment for learning in the multigrade classroom. International Journal of Educational Development, 21(6), 553-560. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0738-0593(01)00015-3
Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.
Hernández Escorcia, R.D., Rodríguez Calonge, E. R., & Barón Romero, S. J. (2020). El entorno natural como espacio de aprendizaje y estrategia pedagógica en la escuela rural. Fortalecimiento de las competencias de las ciencias naturales y educación ambiental en estudiantes del grado 9o en el municipio de la Unión–Sucre Colombia. Revista de Estilos de Aprendizaje, 13(26), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v13i25.1491
Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa (INEE). (2013). ¿Qué hace diferentes a las escuelas urbanas? (Pisa in Focus, 28). https://acortar.link/do88Fs
Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa (INEE). (2019). ¿Estudiar en un centro rural supone alguna diferencia en el método y contenido del aprendizaje? (Pisa in Focus, 94). https://acortar.link/v78H7v
Lorenzo Lacruz, J., Domingo Cebrián, V., & Tomé Fernández, M. (2017). Expectativas y creencias del alumnado rural sobre su futuro profesional y académico. Aula Abierta, 45(1), 49-54. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.45.2017.49-54
Martínez Bonafé, J. (1988). El estudio de casos en la investigación educativa. Investigación en la escuela, (6), 41-50. https://acortar.link/nQ8T46
Morales Romo, N. (2016). Rural schools in Spain. Past, present and future: A sociological framework. Berichte des Instituts Verkehr und Raum, (16), 3-12. http://hdl.handle.net/10366/128103
Morales Romo, N. (2019). Cierre de las escuelas en entornos rurales ¿por o para el despoblamiento? Revista PH, (98), 20-23. https://doi.org/10.33349/2019.98.4388
Peirano, C., Estévez, S. P., & Astorga, M. I. (2015). Educación rural: Oportunidades para la innovación. Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa, 6(1), 53-70. https://doi.org/10.18861/cied.2015.6.1.7
Quílez Serrano, M. & Vázquez Recio, R. (2012). Aulas multigrado o el mito de la mala calidad de enseñanza en la escuela rural. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 59(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.35362/rie5921393
Segovia Largo, Á. & Maceiras García, L. (2018). Os colexios rurais agrupados en Galicia, centros con calidade. Revista Galega de Educación, (70), 68-73. https://rge.gal/paper/os-colexios-rurais-agrupados-en-galicia-centros-con-calidade/
Smit, S., Hyry-Geihammer, E. K., & Raggl, A. (2015). Teaching and learning in small, rural schools in four european countries: Introduction and synthesis of mixed-/multi-age approaches. International Journal of Educational Research, 74, 97-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.04.007
Stake, R. E. (2013). Estudios de casos cualitativos. En N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Coords.), Manual de investigación cualitativa (Vol 2): Paradigmas y perspectivas de disputa (pp. 154-197). Gedisa.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (2002). Bases de la investigación cualitativa. Técnicas y procedimientos para desarrollar la teoría fundamentada. Editorial Universidad de Antioquia.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Manuela Raposo-Rivas, Silvia Sierra-Martínez, Almudena Alonso-Ferreiro, Olalla García-Fuentes, María Ainoa Zabalza-Cerdeiriña
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.
1. In case the submitted paper is accepted for publication, the author(s) FREELY, COSTLESS, EXCLUSIVELY AND FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM transfer copyrights and patrimonial rights to Universidad Nacional (UNA, Costa Rica). For more details check the Originality Statement and Copyright Transfer Agreement
2. REUTILIZATION RIGHTS: UNA authorizes authors to use, for any purpose (among them selfarchiving or autoarchiving) and to publish in the Internet in any electronic site, the paper´'s final version, both approved and published (post print), as long as it is done with a non commercial purpose, does not generate derivates without previous consentment and recognizes both publisher's name and authorship.
3. The submission and possible publication of the paper in the Educare Electronic Journal is ruled by the Journal’s editorial policies, the institutional rules of Universidad Nacional and the laws of the Republic of Costa Rica. Additionally, any possible difference of opinion or future dispute shall be settled in accordance with the mechanisms of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Costa Rican Jurisdiction.
4. In all cases, it is understood that the opinions issued are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of Educare, CIDE or Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica. It is also understood that, in the exercise of academic freedom, the authors have carried out a rogorous scientific-academic process of research, reflection and argumentation thar lays within the thematic scope of interest of the Journal.
5. The papers published by Educare Electronic Journal use a Creative Commons License:
The articles published by Educare Electronic Journal can be shared with a Creative Commons License: 
