Educational Experiences and Narrative Identities of Rural High Achieving Students
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Authors
Holt, Damaris
Issue Date
2023-12-07
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Education , Educational psychology , Education, Secondary , Education, Rural
Alternative Title
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a qualitative and comparative study of the narrative identities of seven high-achieving rural secondary school students. A narrative inquiry approach focused on the participants' educational life stories and themes. The narratives were co-constructed through three in-depth interviews with participants. Timelines of each story were created and reviewed with participants, allowing them to elaborate on or correct researcher misunderstandings. The narratives display fully formed stable and choice narrative identities with high levels of meaning- making and redemptive narrative themes. A cross-case thematic analysis supports the theory that rural students with floater identities can translate their broad understanding of the world beyond their rurally isolated home into academic achievement. Participants displayed various levels of detachment from local culture, experiences with a rural gifted program, participation in creative activities, and mental health struggles. Participants developed imagined future life plans and worked to overcome financial and logistic barriers to opportunity pathways. This study offers a way to understand the educational experiences of marginalized rural adolescents.
Keywords: rural education, rural-gifted, rural-high achiever, critical rural theory, narrative identity, meaning-making, urbanormative
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.