Teachers connecting with rural students and places: A mixed methods analysis

Our study explores how teachers' living proximity to their school and level of social connection to their rural community may influence implementation of place-based education and student-teacher re-lationships in mathematics and science classrooms. Both quantitative and qualitative results from 4126 students and 19 teachers reveal homegrown teachers (live in community where they grew up) highly value and excel at student-teacher relationships. Conversely, less socially connected commuters excel at implementing place-based education. Implications of our study provide new directions for recruiting rural teachers, aside from focusing on those from within the rural community. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.