Harnessing Social Capital in Rural Education Research to Promote Aspiration and Participation in Learning

This chapter draws on experience of rural education research projects from early childhood to adult learning to explore how rural places can promote aspiration and participation in learning. It considers research about non-classroom learning environments offered by rural places and discusses the utility of social capital in both research design and as an analytical framework to explore the influence of ‘rural place’ in promoting (or otherwise) aspiration and participation in learning. It presents vignettes from four rural learning research projects to expose elements of good practice in rural research. These include understanding and being respectful to place and its values, developing trust, respecting the contributions of rural people, and communicating in non-academic language the aims of research including benefits for both community and researchers. The chapter argues that authentic, multifaceted research partnerships that build social capital between researchers and community can yield mutually beneficial outcomes for researchers and rural communities, including fostering participation of underrepresented groups in post-school education and training.