Welcome to the Youth, Education, and Rural Vitality webpage

Who We Are:

The Youth, Education, and Rural Vitality Research Interest Group consists of scholars interested in examining the interrelationships between the education and well-being of youth, communities, and rural vitality. Important sociological questions at the community and societal levels are central, but the group also examines the impact of policy (local and non-local) on youth opportunity and outcomes, community vitality, and school organization and impact. We also welcome demographic analysis and change and examination of economic and community development.

We welcome new members to the RIG and cross-RIG partnerships. The intellectual project of this RIG is inherently interdisciplinary and multi-method.

Papers of interest:

Income Segregation between School Districts and Inequality in Students' Achievement

by Ann Owens (Sociology of Education, January 2018)

Large achievement gaps exist between high- and low-income students and between black and white students. This article explores one explanation for such gaps: income segregation between school districts, which creates inequality in the economic and social resources available in advantaged and disadvantaged students’ school contexts. Drawing on national data, I find that the income achievement gap is larger in highly segregated metropolitan areas. This is due mainly to high-income students performing better, rather than low-income children performing worse, in more-segregated places.

Leadership         

Chair: Julia Miller, [email protected]