Sharing Leadership Stories in Rural Education: Leading Rurally across Australia and the United States

About

Professor Simone White is Professor and Dean of the School of Education at RMIT Australia. She is a leading expert in teacher education and professional learning focusing on the best ways to prepare teachers for diverse contexts. Her research explores the fields of teacher education policy teacher learning professional experience and building university-school/community partnerships. Through her collective work Simone aims to connect research policy and practice in ways that bring together and break down traditional borders between academics policy makers communities and practitioners. Professor Jayne Downey Montana State University United States serves as the Director of the Center for Research on Rural Education. Professor Downey has been an active leader and researcher in rural education for over 25 years. Her scholarship is focused on preparing teachers and counselors for rural schools and communities and improving outcomes rural students. Professor Downey is committed to engaging in research scholarship and service which are intentionally attuned to the complex and unique realities and relationships of rural schools and communitiespast present and future. She is a co-editor of Rural Education Across the World and co-author of Teaching in Rural Places: Thriving in Classrooms Schools and Communities. She received the 2022 Career Achievement Award from the American Educational Research Associations Rural Education SIG. Dr Melyssa Fuqua is a Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne in the Faculty of Education. Her research explores how sporting clubs influence aspiration and participation of rural youth in tertiary education and work and the clubs role in their wider community. Her research interests include rural youth pathways and careers education community and ruraling education research. Originally from Massachusetts Melyssa was a F-12 teacher in rural Victoria for a decade before returning to higher education and research. Melyssa is the manager of the international Rural Education Research Student Network and is on the editorial team of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education.