dc.contributor.author	Holt, Damaris
dc.coverage.spatial	United States	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-26T17:18:02Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-26T17:18:02Z
dc.date.issued	2023-12-07
dc.identifier.other	844b24a0-1023-4890-a2f9-4afdb06328ea	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10428/7159
dc.description.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	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	Chapter I: Introduction 1 My Educational Narrative Identity 3 Rural Student Narratives Might Be the Answer 5 Overview of the Problem 6 Rural Mistrust of Education 7 Existing Rural Research 9 More Research Needed 14 Research Goals 16 Intellectual Goals 16 Personal Goals 18 Practical Goals 19 Research Puzzle/Questions 21 Research Question 1: Stories 22 Research Question 2: Imagined Future Identity 23 Significance 24 Chapter II: Conceptual Framework 27 Personal Experiences 28 Valuing Educational Challenge 29 Background in Developmental Psychology 30 Theory 32 Narrative Identity Theory 32 Critical Rural Theory 34 Barriers to Gifted Programs for Rural Students 36 Pilot Interview 38 Existing Study-Related Research 41 Rural High-Ability College Women 42 Identity Tension in Imagined Futures of Rural Students 43 Meaning Making 46 Chapter III: Methods 49 Research Design 49 Site Selection and Participants 52 Site 54 Participant Selection 56 Research Relationships and Ethical Issues 60 Compensation 61 Data Collection, Analysis, and Presentation 61 Data Collection 62 Data Analysis 76 Validity 94 Chapter IV: Narratives 101 Meet Ivan 104 Ivan’s Story 105 Loving Learning 107 Middle School was a Transformation 110 High School Years and COVID 112 Band was an Opportunity 113 Procrastinating is Stressful 115 I Want Free College Credits 116 Theater Helped 117 Blending In 118 Senior Year 118 I Try Not to Worry 119 Advice to Educators 122 My Reflection 123 Meet Laura 125 Laura’s Story 126 Middle school Troubles 128 Man, I'm so Smart 130 I Went Through it in Middle School 131 High School Years 132 Working with Special Education Students 136 I'm Going to Try My Darndest 137 Hill County Values Friendship 141 It's Okay to Make Mistakes 142 Local Politics and Religion 145 Advice to Educators 146 My Reflection 147 Meet Quinn 150 Quinn’s Story 150 A Death in the Family 153 A Home of Our Own 154 Gender and School 155 Relationship to Rural Southern Culture 157 Overcoming Depression and Concentration Problems 159 Family Relationships 160 I Really Value Honesty 162 Theatre 163 I Want to Join the Military 164 Advice to Educators 168 My Reflection 169 Meet Matt 171 Matt’s Story 171 Online Middle School 174 Online Life 175 Health Decline 178 A New Online School 179 Familial Problems 180 Reintegration 181 College Classes are Easy 184 A Nice Stable Foundation 187 Thoughts on Education 188 My Reflection 189 Meet Janey 191 Janey’s Story 192 I Kept Having Problems with My Teachers 193 Middle School Years and Writing 194 Between Urban and Rural Schools 195 Middle School and Mental Health 196 Me and My Brother 199 A Man Came to Live with Us 200 Return to Hill County 203 Internal Peace 205 I'm Going to Have to Focus 206 Educators Should be Willing 207 My Reflection 208 Meet Chris 210 Chris’s Story 210 Steven Universe and Mental Health 211 My Dad, the Preacher 213 Early Praise 214 The Beginning of Grade Anxiety 215 What am I Gonna Have to Sacrifice? 216 Teacher Relationships 217 Anxiety and Paranoia 217 High School Years 219 There are More Important Things than School 221 The Future is Scary 222 Teachers can Benefit from Mental Health Help 225 My Reflection 225 Meet Mia 227 Mia’s Story 227 Early Education and Gifted Identification 229 My Parents Were Adamant 230 Online all the Time 231 I Love Writing 233 Middle School, Mental Health, and Social Media 233 Asking for Help 235 Absorbed on Social Media 237 How am I Gonna Change How I Feel? 239 These Stories are the Reason 240 I Like How Rural it is 241 A Stable Living Situation 242 Not all Smart Kids are Alike 243 My Reflection 244 Narrative Conclusion 245 Chapter V: Thematic Connections 247 Research Question 1: Stories 248 Detachment from Local Culture 249 Being Gifted 252 Participation in Creative Activities257 Mental Health Issues 259 Research Question 2: Imagined Future Identity 262 Financial Concerns about College 263 Future Stability 265 Chapter VI: Discussion and Conclusion 267 Problem275 Research Questions276 Conceptual Framework276 Goals278 Methods 278 Themes 279 Narrative Identity 283 Advice to Educators 285 Conclusion and Suggestions for Future Research 288 Final Thoughts 291 References 293 Appendix A Interview Guides 306 Appendix B List of Courses Possessing State Scholarship Required Academic Rigor 316 Appendix C IRB Approval Letter 319 Appendix D Principal Letter of Cooperation 322 List of Figures Figure 1:Research Design Framework 51 Figure 2: Excerpt from Janey’s Third Interview66 Figure 3:Excerpt from Laura’s Second Interview 68 Figure 4:Annal Drawn After Interview Two and Presented at Interview 3 72 Figure 5:Analytic Memo Written During and After Transcription75 Figure 6:Narrative Analysis Memo on Life Story Elements 77 Figure 7:Organization Framework of Coding System 84 Figure 8:Compelling Passage Exported to Microsoft Word87 Figure 9:Short Reflexive Memo Written During Restorying 91 Figure 10: Data Analysis Steps 93 Figure 11: Advice to Educators 287.	en_US
dc.format.extent	1 electronic record. PDF/A document, 338 pages, 7057987 bytes.	en_US
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	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.	en_US
dc.subject	Dissertations, Academic--United States	en_US
dc.subject	Education	en_US
dc.subject	Educational psychology	en_US
dc.subject	Education, Secondary	en_US
dc.subject	Education, Rural	en_US
dc.title	Educational Experiences and Narrative Identities of Rural High Achieving Students	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Leadership, Technology, and Workforce Development of the Dewar College of Education and Human Services	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Schmertzing, Lorraine
dc.description.committee	Schmertzing, Richard
dc.description.committee	James, Christine
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Education in Curriculum and Instruction	en_US