Rural social space: A conceptual-analytical framework for rural (teacher) education and the rural human services

The model of rural social space developed by Reid et al. (2010) draws attention to key issues impacting on the professional and social dimensions of living and learning in rural places. This chapter elaborates on the workings of the model by illustrating with examples from a number of large-scale rural research studies. The case examples highlight the complexities and richness of the social, cultural, and environmental histories of specific places and how these impact on the relationships nd social structures operating at any given time. In this way, it explicates the value of the model and how it operates as a resource to help understand any place. It is argued that understanding the implications of rural social space can support professional practitioners, policy-makers, and systems to think differently, and more productively, about the potential and possibilities for working and living in particular non-metropolitan settings. By recognising this, the chapter supports the need to challenge deficit models of the rural and other marginalised social categories.