Helping students weather the pandemic: A mixed-methods study of rural educators and their students’ wellbeing

Rural schools have fewer resources to support student health and social-emotional wellbeing; they have also been underrepresented in education research and policy. Geographic variation influenced schools’ experiences of the pandemic, highlighting a myriad of ways in which it may have exacerbated pre-existing inequities based on rurality. This mixed-method study aimed to gain a better understanding of how the pandemic impacted the delivery of school-based mental and behavioral health supports to address the social and emotional needs of students and educators in rural schools across Virginia. Data were collected between July and December 2020. In Phase 1, we conducted group and individual qualitative interviews with 17 school staff and administrators. Phase 2 consisted of a largely quantitative online survey of 349 school staff from 37 rural districts. Both phases explored respondents’ perspectives of pandemic impacts on students’ academic and social-emotional well-being, school supports for students, and educators’ personal and occupational health. Open-ended survey questions provided further insight into survey responses. Educators reported substantial negative impacts across all domains. Comparative analyses identified disproportionate concerns reported by women, staff serving higher grade levels, and educators of color. Positive impacts included benefits of alternative instruction for some students, as well as staff professional growth and reassessment of values. Taken together, study findings highlight underrepresented rural educators’ experiences and the value of mixed-methods approaches for centering educator voice.