As associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State University, Kai Schafft's research interests include rural brain drain and the role of schools in rural community development. He has directed the Penn State Center on Rural Education and Communities since 2004 and served as editor of the Journal of Research in Rural Education since 2008.

In this exclusive Rural360° interview, Schafft discusses recent trends in rural education research; the value of sociological perspectives; and the ways that research, practice and policy can combine to improve education in rural communities.