Storied Research into the Adoption of PLCs in Rural Schools

This book is organized into four articles. The first traces my transition into the world of a doctoral student and how it parallels my recent immigration into rural New Brunswick using Giroux's border-crossing model The second contains a review of related literature on rural education and PLCs. This article presents a possible model for adopting PLCs in rural schools. The third contains my narrative inquiry into the experiences of teachers in rural New Brunswick schools to reveal how a PLC model for professional development was adopted at their schools and the effect the implementation had on their practice. The fourth captures the impact and implications of various educational reforms on communities, showing a clear connection between government policymakers' economic perspectives to the reform of rural schools and the outmigration of youth from their rural communities. A locally influenced curriculum links the classroom and cultural politics so students can develop their deliberative powers to remain and address community issues. At the heart of each article lies the role of the community as it adjusts to the challenges of change.