School Segregation and Disparities in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas

• Published in: The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 674; no. 1; pp. 199 - 216
• Main Authors: LOGAN, JOHN R., BURDICK-WILL, JULIA
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publishing 01.11.2017; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Academic achievement; American Indians; Disadvantaged; Educational inequality; Ethnic differences; Ethnicity; Hispanic Americans; Native North Americans; Native students; Poverty; Professional training; Public schools; Racial differences; Racial inequality; Racial segregation; Rural areas; Rural communities; Rural schools; Segregation; Students; Suburban areas; Urban areas; Urban poverty; Urban schools; United States > US; disparities; segregation; urban-rural; schools
• ISSN: 0002-7162; 1552-3349
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716217733936

Much of the literature on racial and ethnic educational inequality focuses on the contrast between black and Hispanic students in urban areas and white suburban students. This study extends the research on school segregation and racial/ethnic disparities by highlighting the importance of rural areas and regional variation. Although schools in rural America are disproportionately white, they nevertheless are like urban schools, and disadvantaged relative to suburban schools, in terms of poverty and test performance. Native Americans are most affected by rural school disadvantage. While they are a small share of students nationally, Native Americans are prominent and highly disadvantaged in rural areas, particularly in certain parts of the country. These figures suggest a strong case for including rural schools in the continuing conversations about how to deal with unfairness in public education.