Experiences of Rural CS Principles Educators

Bringing computer science to rural schools is a persistent CS education challenge. Over 9 million students attend rural schools, nearly 1 in 5 of all public school students [1]. While rural schools have some advantages, they face significant challenges including recruiting and retaining qualified STEM teachers, school funding, and access to broadband Internet. To better understand how and why rural schools are teaching CS courses, researchers conducted focus groups during summer 2020. Participants included high school teachers who had completed the Mobile Computer Science Principles (CSP) professional development and were teaching in rural or town schools. Results indicate that in varied rural contexts, teachers play a key role in establishing and sustaining CS courses at their school while facing challenges such as how to navigate teaching, course capacity, and access to resources necessary to teach CSP. The experiences, strengths, and challenges of rural teachers can inform state policy leaders, curriculum and professional development providers, researchers, and other stakeholders as they work to expand access to meaningful CS learning for all students, including those in rural areas.