Bass, Erika Lynn2019-05-032019-05-032019-05-02vt_gsexam:19691http://hdl.handle.net/10919/89343Students' connections to place are important to bring into the classroom to help them make meaning. This multimethod study investigated the overarching research question: What is the influence of a place-based curriculum on high-performing, rural students as writers? This was broken into two sub-questions: (a) What is the effect of treatment condition on students writing ability, writing self-efficacy, and concepts of community and place and (b) In what ways do students reference place in their writing? In particular, this study examined students' writing ability, writing self-efficacy, connections to community/place, and references to place in students' writing. Working from a larger data set from the Promoting PLACE (Place, Literacy, Achievement, Community, and Engagement) in Rural Schools grant, students' pre- and post-test writing tasks, self-report writing self-efficacy, and community and place scales were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore the ways the curriculum supported students as writers. The sample included treatment and control students, randomly assigned at the district level. The treatment group access to the Promoting PLACE curriculum and the control group received the typical services their district provided. Quantitative analysis gave rise to more questions regarding sample size, gifted identification methods, and modes of instruction. Qualitative analysis gave insight into the importance of connecting to place in the classroom, so students can explore the richness of their rural places. Using a dialogic stance, with place-based pedagogy can provide students with opportunities to critically examine their places and the experiences they have in those places.ETDIn CopyrightDemocracy and educationSelf-efficacydialogic pedagogyruralplace-based educationgifted writersDissertation