UCLA

The college-going journey in rural areas is shaped by a large deficit of information on rurality and higher education. From a neo-institutional and Bourdieuian lens, this study explored the field of rural higher education by (a) centering the actors and organizations in the field, (b) highlighting the internal and external forces that shape and define the field, and (c) examining the ways the field addresses regional educational inequities. Through a qualitative single-case study of a college-going pipeline in the Pacific Northwest, this study found through fields and spatial analysis that the field of higher education in this region was composed of committed stakeholders working against external forces, including federal and state policies, funding, and staffing. Further, this study demonstrated that opportunities within rural areas are complex, with costs that can detract from the proposed benefits.

This study contributes to both literature and theory. First, by applying an organizational lens, the study investigated the stakeholders who constitute the dynamic field of rural college-going. Second, this study uplifted the voices of rural educators, adding to rural scholarship by including narratives beyond those of rural students. Findings from this study demonstrate that for college-going outcomes to improve in rural areas, rural-focused equity initiatives and policies must be institutionalized at micro, meso, and macro levels. Implications from this study provide researchers, policymakers, and practitioners with constructive ideas that could strengthen the alignment of rural educational stakeholders, institutional practices, and initiatives.