Citizenship education for proactive democratic life in rural communities

Abstract

To assist rural teachers in fostering students’ democratic skills and dispositions, this article examines the convergence of literature on citizenship education, rural communities, and rural education and extrapolates the challenges and possibilities of rural citizenship education for proactive democratic life. Four assertions are elicited from a review of the literature to bring about cognizance to rural citizenship education for K-12 teachers and teacher educators: (a) civic republican notions of citizenship likely dominate rural communities, but liberal citizenship discourses may offer meaningful pathways for a proactive democratic life; (b) rural individualism must be assessed for its strengths and weaknesses; (c) economic hardships can lead to political distrust, but can also become fuel for citizen empowerment; and (d) rural social norms can jeopardize educational goals, so they must be acknowledged. Each assertion is accompanied by a discussion to elucidate the assertion and make recommendations on how to utilize rural possibilities to improve citizenship education. This article contributes to context-specific citizenship instruction and, therefore, the possibility of stronger democratic relationships in rural communities.