Education and Workforce in Rural North Georgia
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Authors
Dalton, Donna Marinda
Issue Date
2021-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Rural schools , Talented students , Rural development , High schools , High school students , Georgia , Cleveland (Ga.)
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of the current study is to explore experiences that can foster the development of resiliency for exceptional youth living in rural underserved communities, especially within a school setting; identify the needs for support and attention with possible different experiences and views from the norm, and add new knowledge to the existing limited knowledge base. The theoretical framework of the personal talent development theory, the theory of successful intelligence, and the social cognitive career theory framed the current study and provided a basis for interpreting the findings through cross-comparison. A basic interpretive approach of qualitative research was utilized as the appropriate research design in order to obtain an in-depth description of the lived phenomenon.
I interviewed nine adult students from one local High School in Cleveland, Georgia. Participants were asked to describe significant experiences that influenced their career decision-making processes. Data were collected through three in-depth interviews, which provided a platform to let the students speak to their experiences. The students articulated the following common experiences that influenced their career decisions: parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, college financial advantage, employment, perceived college rank and reputation based on selected major, and college proximity. The statements obtained during the student interviews provided valuable insight and aligned with previous researcher’s statements linking the conceptual framework and theory with practice. This qualitative study of rural education and workforce development can make an important contribution. Making education relevant to the contextual realities of the student is essential, and support from research helps to identify issues.
Keywords: exceptional youth, local, contextual supports, rural, high school, underserved communities
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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.