Education and Development in Rural Appalachia

187 Pages·2011·3.68 MB·English

Education and Development in Rural Appalachia: An Environmental Education
Perspective

A dissertation presented to
the faculty of
The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services
of Ohio University

In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

James R. Addington
March 2011
© 2011 James R. Addington. All Rights Reserved.
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This dissertation titled
Education and Development in Rural Appalachia: An Environmental Education
Perspective

by
JAMES R. ADDINGTON

has been approved for
the Department of Educational Studies
and The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services by

Francis E. Godwyll
Assistant Professor of Educational Studies

Renée A. Middleton
Dean, The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services
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Abstract
ADDINGTON, JAMES R., Ph.D., March 2011, Curriculum and Instruction, Cultural
Studies
Education and Development in Rural Appalachia: An Environmental Education
Perspective (187 pp.)
Director of Dissertation: Francis E. Godwyll
This study examines education and development in Appalachia using
environmental education as the theoretical basis. Despite over 50 years of public attention
to the educational and developmental disparities in the Central Appalachian region, these
disparities still exist. Thus, the investigation into a new paradigm seems appropriate
(Eller, 2008). The overarching research question seeks to explore whether a sustainable
Appalachian perspective can serve to anchor an educational and developmental system
that meets the needs of the Appalachian people. This study adopted a naturalistic
qualitative approach. Naturalistic inquiry studies real-world situations as they unfold
naturally; it also lacks predetermined constraints on outcomes and is characterized by
openness to whatever emerges (Patton, 1990; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The main source
of data was through interviews of seven participants through purposeful sampling of
information rich individuals.
The findings of the study show that the development of a sustainable economy in
Appalachia could produce a more affluent and environmentally just life for the region’s
residents and represents a new paradigm. The findings point out that a sustainable
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economy in Appalachia must include an agricultural component and that food production
and food security is tied to regional ideas of place and identity.
Environmental education is seen as a foundation of this development. Finally,
the development of a sustainable economy must come from the grassroots, and the
development of a mechanism to tie together the constructs of economic empowerment,
education, environmental, and ecological justice in a coherent and practical way. The
study indicates that Environmental Education can be the mechanism that serves that
purpose as it contains all those constructs. I would contend that Appalachia is not unique
in this, but that all culture is based in place and that environmental education methods are
apropos for education and development methods. The broader application of these
conclusions is that communities that express themselves largely through indigenous
worldviews should confront the world and their developmental priorities using paradigms
that align with environmental education.

Approved: _____________________________________________________________
Francis E. Godwyll
Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
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Dedication

I wish to dedicate this work to the following people:
Ann Addington, my loving and supportive spouse
Lucille Alley Maple, my mother for her unfailing faith
Wells, Lauren, and Jenna, my children for their unqualified love
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Acknowledgments
I wish to acknowledge first my chairperson, Dr. Francis Godwyll for his
assistance from the beginning to the end of the dissertation process. I also wish to thank
the following committee members for their support and assistance in the process, Dr.
Jerry Johnson, Dr. Sharon Denham, Jack Wright, MFA and Dean Richard Greenlee.
Additionally I would like to thank The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of
Education and Human Services, South East Ohio ABLE, and Coalition of Ohio
Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE), for their financial support in my
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Table of Contents
Page
Abstract................................................................................................................................3
Dedication............................................................................................................................5
!
Acknowledgments...............................................................................................................6
!
List of Tables.......................................................................................................................9
!
List of Figures....................................................................................................................10
!
Chapter One: Introduction.................................................................................................11
!
Background to the Study...............................................................................................11
!
Statement of the Problem..............................................................................................17
!
Research Questions........................................................................................................18
!
Purpose of the Study......................................................................................................19
!
Significance...................................................................................................................19
!
Delimitations.................................................................................................................20
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Definitions of Terms......................................................................................................20
!
Chapter Two: Literature Review.......................................................................................22
!
Introduction...................................................................................................................22
!
Appalachia and its Culture............................................................................................22
!
Contrasting Cultures..................................................................................................25
!
Education in Appalachia................................................................................................26
!
Background................................................................................................................26
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Barriers to Education.................................................................................................30
!
Support for Education by the Inhabitants of Appalachia...........................................33
!
Expectations in Appalachia for Students Today........................................................36
!
Education Attainment in Appalachia.........................................................................38
!
Appalachian Studies..................................................................................................40
!
Theoretical Framework..................................................................................................43
!
Environmental Education..........................................................................................43
!
Environmental Education and Place..........................................................................53
!
Chapter Three: Methodology.............................................................................................57
!
Design........................................................................................................................57
!
!
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Site Selection.................................................................................................................57
Participant Selection......................................................................................................59
!
Data Collection Procedure.............................................................................................59
!
Methods and Approaches..............................................................................................61
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The Researcher..............................................................................................................63
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Analyses and Interpretation of Data..............................................................................64
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Reflections from the Field.............................................................................................65
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Chapter Four: Analysis of Data.........................................................................................67
!
Introduction...................................................................................................................67
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Appalachian Culture......................................................................................................68
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Summation.................................................................................................................73
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Appalachian Studies......................................................................................................74
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Summation.................................................................................................................83
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Sense of Place in Appalachia.........................................................................................84
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Summation.................................................................................................................91
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Environmental Education..............................................................................................91
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Summation...............................................................................................................103
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Environmental Justice..................................................................................................103
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Summation...............................................................................................................111
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Development in Appalachia........................................................................................111
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Summation...............................................................................................................122
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Sustainability...............................................................................................................123
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Summation...............................................................................................................140
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Cross-case Analysis.....................................................................................................140
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Summation...................................................................................................................151
!
Chapter Five: Summary, Implications, and Conclusions................................................153
!
Summary of Chapters..................................................................................................153
!
Implications.................................................................................................................171
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Conclusions.................................................................................................................172
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References...................................................................................................................174
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Appendix A..................................................................................................................186
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List of Tables
Page
Table1 Cross Case Analysis............................................................................................143
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List of Figures
Page
Figure 1: ARC Designated Appalachian Region ...........................................................59
Figure 2: Environmental Education .............................................................................145
Figure 3: Interconnection .............................................................................................146
Figure 4: Social Justice ................................................................................................147
Figure 5: Eco Environment ..........................................................................................148
Figure 6: Personal Environment ..................................................................................150
Figure 7: Natural vs. built envir nments .....................................................................152
o
Figure 8: Diagrammatic Representation of Postmodern Economy Model ..................165
Figure 9: Diagrammatic Representation of Sustainable Economic Model .................166
Figure 10: Symbology of Panarchy .............................................................................169