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This exploratory case study examined how collegebound seniors from a rural community formed their personal system of values and how those values informed choices concerning higher education. Furthermore, this article considers implications for outreach and recruitments strategies in rural communities as well as support once rural students arrive on campus.
Despite having the secondhighest high school graduation rates among the different locales recognized by the National Center for Educational Statistics ([NCES] 2013), students from rural communities enroll in higher education at substantially lower rates than do their urban and suburban counterparts (NCES 2015). Still, the number of rural students matriculating at colleges and universities is increasing, and stakeholders in higher education are beginning to see the potential for this unique population to meet increasing enrollment goals (Greater Texas Foundation 2015, NCES 2015, Chen et al. 2014). At the same time, little research focuses on rural students in higher education to guide future efforts to recruit and retain them.
Understanding the values of rural students who leave their communities to pursue postsecondary degrees, how those values are formed, and how they inform students' higher education choices could serve as a launching point for implementing more effective outreach efforts in rural areas. The current exploratory multiple-case study sought to fill this gap in the literature by posing the following research questions: (1) How do recent high school graduates who grow up in a rural context and intend to leave their communities to pursue higher education form their values system? (2) What values are common among recent high school graduates who choose to leave their rural communities to pursue higher education?
Literature Review
Although little research focuses on students from rural communities who enter higher education, there is a body of literature that examines the educational aspirations of rural K-I2 students as well as broader work on values within rural communities. In fact, research reveals that values often espoused in rural communities may play a role in the lagging number of rural students who matriculate in higher education. This is particularly true regarding the value placed on education.
Many people in rural communities have a strong commitment to the people and physical space of their local community (Atkin 2000, 2003; Bryan and Simmons 2009; Hektner 1995; Wright 2012)....