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Promoting Supportive Contexts for Minority Youth in Low-Resource Rural Communities: The SEALS Model, Directed Consultation, and the Scouting Report Approach

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Rural Ethnic Minority Youth and Families in the United States

Part of the book series: Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development ((ARAD))

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss school and community challenges that impact the school adjustment and academic engagement of minority youth in rural communities that have high rates of poverty and associated factors that may impact students’ educational attainment. We begin by reviewing research on educational and developmental contexts in rural areas that serve high concentrations of minority youth from low-resource family and community backgrounds, and we consider how these contexts may constrain students’ educational experiences, achievement, and outcomes. Next, we present a professional development model that we have created to support teachers in the use of instructional and classroom management strategies aimed at enhancing the academic engagement and school success of early adolescents, including those who are at risk for school adjustment difficulties. This is followed by a review of the use of this professional development program in rural, low-resource communities and a summary of the impact of this model on a variety of indicators of students’ school engagement and achievement. We conclude with a discussion of next steps in research to enhance the educational opportunities, engagement, and attainment of minority youth from poor rural communities.

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Acknowledgments

The research reported in this paper was supported by grants (R305A040056, R305A120812) from the Institute of Education Sciences. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are the authors and do not reflect the funding agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Thomas W. Farmer

  2. School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Jill V. Hamm

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  1. Thomas W. Farmer
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Correspondence to Thomas W. Farmer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Dept. of Psychology, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    Lisa J. Crockett

  2. University of Missouri, Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies, Columbia, Missouri, USA

    Gustavo Carlo

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Farmer, T.W., Hamm, J.V. (2016). Promoting Supportive Contexts for Minority Youth in Low-Resource Rural Communities: The SEALS Model, Directed Consultation, and the Scouting Report Approach. In: Crockett, L., Carlo, G. (eds) Rural Ethnic Minority Youth and Families in the United States. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20976-0_14

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