Overview

There are diverse images of rural communities. What comes to your mind when you think of rural communities? You may imagine farms, close family, fruits and vegetables, small family-owned businesses, community festivals, the town square, and more. As a social worker, the source of our images of rural settings can come from the media, summer road trips, television shows, and more. Social networks are among the many strengths that are important in rural social work practice. Select populations in these communities can have higher or lower social support networks which can affect their quality of life and health experiences. This module will help us to expand our knowledge of rural strengths, images, and ways of communicating about this setting.

Learning objectives

This week, our activities, content, and assignments will help you do the following:

Describe the demographic characteristics of rural settings
Identify the typical views of strengths connected to rural communities
Discuss nontypical positive images associated with rural communities
Describe FrameWorks and Public Knowledge’s six frames for communicating about rural America
Discuss the nature and value of social networks in rural settings
Describe the experiences of select, underserved populations residing in rural settings