Template APA v4.1 (beta): Created by L Threet 11/15/2019 Extended school closure: The perspectives from a rural school community By TITLE PAGE Ha Nguyen Approved by: Dana Franz (Major Professor) Kristin Javorsky (Co-Major Professor) Kathleen Alley Jianzhong Xu Missy Hopper (Graduate Coordinator) Teresa Jayroe (Dean, College of Education) A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2022 Copyright by COPYRIGHT PAGE Ha Nguyen 2022 Name: Ha Nguyen ABSTRACT Date of Degree: May 11, 2022 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Curriculum and Instruction Committee Chair: Dana Franz Title of Study: Extended school closure: The perspectives from a rural school community Pages in Study 328 Candidate for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to students worldwide, especially younger ones This instrumental case study investigated how elementary students in a rural United States southeastern community experienced the sudden, extended closure of their school building facilities triggered by this health emergency Multiple stakeholder perspectives were gathered through semi-structured interviews with the elementary school principal, three classroom teachers, three elementary-aged students, and three student family members, along with classroom observations as well as corresponding documents and artifacts Interview commentaries and weekly reflective commentary journal entries were employed to address data validation and reliability issues The findings demonstrate how the rural elementary school community leveraged its unique strengths (e.g., partnership with families, communal leaders, businesses, and local institutions) and overcame disadvantages under emergency conditions Salutary lessons drawn from the COVID-19 extended school facilities closure were shared from the perspectives of the rural school stakeholders Keywords: rural elementary students, extended school closure DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to individuals who are planning, embarking, or going on the arduous journey to achieve a doctoral degree I consider myself particularly fortunate to be capable of completing the degree as the percentage of doctoral student completion was approximately 50%, the lowest amongst all academic degrees (Wollast et al., 2018) There were times that I thought that I could not reach the end of this grueling journey – being a part-time employee, a full-time graduate student, a “single” mother of three little kiddos, and then all of a sudden, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out Friends kept asking me how I survived, wearing such “multiple hats,” I simply replied, “Just it!” Similar to the student participants in my dissertation study, my perseverance was propelled by the long-term goal which was the Ph.D degree, and specific, feasible objectives paid off I hope that my accomplishment can generate the necessary motivation for you on your doctoral journey! References Wollast, R., Boudrenghien, G., der Linden, N V., Galand, B., Roland, N., Devos, C., De Clercq, M., Klein, O., Azzi, A., & Frenay, M (2018) Who are the doctoral students who drop out? Factors associated with the rate of doctoral degree completion in universities International Journal of Higher Education, 7(4), 143-156 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1188721.pdf ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sir Isaac Newton was quoted as saying, “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” (Martin, n.d., para 2) This dissertation study would not be successfully completed without tremendous support from “Giants” including but not limited to my family, dissertation committee, research participants, department, and friends First, I would like to acknowledge my family for their wholehearted assistance and encouragement There were times when my burdens became intolerable on the Ph.D journey, my immediate family (i.e., my parents, my parents-in-law, my four children, and particularly my beloved husband) constantly raised my spirits with their kind words, reassurance, and succor Even in the face of adverse circumstances, my husband always knew how to put a smile back on my face and showed me the other (positive) side of the coin Second, I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to my dissertation committee members: Dr Dana Franz, my committee chair and my major professor, who offered sensible advice and led me through the entire doctoral journey; Dr Kathleen Alley, my committee member, who guided me through the academic writing process, as well as promptly and meticulously pointed out major writing-related edits that I needed to make in this dissertation; Dr Jianzhong Xu, my committee member, who continually pushed me to my potential by provoking challenging questions and insightful comments; and especially Dr Kristin Javorsky, my co-major professor, who twice sat down with me, putting herself in my shoes, helping formulate, and then developed possible research ideas for my dissertation Additionally, Dr iii Javorsky also leveraged her personal and professional resources to provide me with her best assistance for the completion of this dissertation project Third, I would like to show appreciation for Ms Casey Glusenkamp, who offered her services and resources during the implementation of the dissertation project Besides, I want to extend my thanks to my “devil’s advocate,” all the panel members, and research participants for their valuable time and contributions to this dissertation study Fourth, I would like to show sincere gratitude towards Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education, College of Education, Mississippi State University, who financially and emotionally aided my study and research throughout my five years in the United States This department is comprised of the most friendly and benevolent professors as well as supporting staff of the university Fifth, I would like to pay tribute to the generous support that my friends lent me from the date I planned to take the Ph.D journey to the date of my graduation I want to thank Dr Dan Ho for relentlessly motivating me on this laborious journey I want to send my thanks to Loan Kirkland, who showed me practical ideas of what I could achieve I want to acknowledge Dr Stephen Cottrell for his profound wisdom as a friend, a teacher, and a father Lastly but importantly, I would like to extend my gratefulness to friends whose names are not listed here (due to time and space constraints), but without their help and encouragement, I would not have been able to cross the finish line of the Ph.D journey References Martin, G (n.d.) The meaning and origin of the expression: Standing on the shoulders of giants The Phrase Finder https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/268025.html iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 11 II LITERATURE REVIEW .18 Conceptual Frameworks 18 Definition of “Rural” .22 Negative Bias about “Rural” 24 Educational Advantages of Rural Education 24 Challenges of Rural Education 25 Rural School Students .28 Rural School Teachers .31 Collective Teacher Efficacy 32 The Multiple “Hats” that a Rural Teacher Wears .35 Rural Communities 38 The State Third-Grade Retention Policy 40 Additional Supports 41 The 21st Century Community Learning Centers .42 Public Schools in Rural Areas of Mississippi 44 Rural School Structures 48 Intentional Shortened Schooling .49 Unexpected Small-Scale School Closure 56 Contingency Planning .59 Rural Students as Extended School Closure Victims 61 Rural Teachers as Extended School Closure Victims .65 Rural School Districts as Extended School Closure Victims 66 Rural Parents as Extended School Closure Victims 67 Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic School Closure 68 Families .69 v Students .70 Teachers .70 School administrators 72 Digital chasm .74 The COVID-19 Pandemic Post-School Closure .78 III METHODS .87 Research Design 88 Research Context .91 The Community 92 The School District 93 The School 94 Participants 95 School Administrator .95 School Teachers .95 School Students 96 Family Members 96 Participant Selection 96 Data Collection 99 Data Sources 100 Interviews 101 Documentation and Artifacts .106 Virtual Classroom Observations 109 Reflective Commentary Journal 110 Data Analysis .113 Definition of a Code 114 Codes-to-Theory Model for Qualitative Inquiry .114 Coding Methods 116 First Coding Cycle .116 First-to-Second Cycle Coding 119 Second Coding Cycle 120 Coding Strategies 121 Addressing Ethical Issues 123 Validation and Reliability 125 Limitations .127 IV FINDINGS 130 Four Iterations of Analysis 130 Central Themes 132 School Closure as a Disruptor 132 Academic Disruption 133 Unconducive Learning Environment 136 Learning-“Unlearning” Switch .141 Lacking Immediacy 141 vi Lacking In-Person Connection .143 Accountability Issues 144 Non-Academic Disruption .154 Home Confinement 154 “Deer Caught in Headlights.” 159 Academic Boredom 161 The Intersection of “Covid Slide” and “Summer Slide” 165 Learning Loss 165 “Speeding.” 169 Lethargy 173 School Closure as a Booster 183 Rural School-Community Partnership 183 Lifelong Learning Attitudes 197 Technology Skills .199 Resilience 202 V DISCUSSION .213 The Rural Context 214 The 2020 Extended School Closure 219 Self-Challenges 220 Regresses 225 The Collective Power of the Rural School Community 229 Adaptation .232 The Model of Personal Self and Identity Development 234 Pedagogical Implications .236 Suggestions for Further Research 242 VI CONCLUSION .245 REFERENCES 247 APPENDIX A PERCENTAGE OF PUBLIC STUDENTS IN RURAL SCHOOLS BY STATE IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015 .274 B RURAL STUDENTS’ SAMPLE FAMILY FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE 276 C INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS 279 D INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH BOARD APPROVAL LETTERS 290 E RECRUITMENT LETTERS 294 F FIRST ITERATION OF CODING .301 vii G THE SECOND ITERATION OF CODING 307 H EXEMPLARY ASSIGNMENTS 314 viii ... Negative Bias about ? ?Rural? ?? 24 Educational Advantages of Rural Education 24 Challenges of Rural Education 25 Rural School Students .28 Rural School Teachers... shared from the perspectives of the rural school stakeholders Keywords: rural elementary students, extended school closure DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to individuals who are planning,... with families, communal leaders, businesses, and local institutions) and overcame disadvantages under emergency conditions Salutary lessons drawn from the COVID-19 extended school facilities closure