Technology and Rural Special Education Research: Challenges and Opportunities

Rural communities are facing unprecedented challenges, including continued ramifications from educational losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, increases in mental health needs with decreasing access to resources, and increasing poverty and unemployment. These crises are even more detrimental to students with disabilities and disproportionately impact rural children and their schools. Quality research is essential to ameliorating challenges that rural schools face. Technology based interventions and services can improve outcomes for rural children who are eligible to receive special education and related services. The purpose of the Journal of Special Education Technology rural special education issue is to provide exemplars of quality rural special education technology research and highlight innovations that leverage rural strengths to serve students with disabilities attending high need rural schools. In addition to this introduction to the special issue, five Original Research and three Technology in Action articles are featured. The authors completed a synthesis of technology based interventions, applied research studies, and translational research articles for practitioners. Implications for practice and future directions are included.