Journal profile · Social Sciences-Education
The Rural Educator
ISSN 0273-446X · eISSN 2643-9662 · National Rural Education Association · United States
The Rural Educator: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 20 weeks (community reports); 34 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
The Rural Educator is published by National Rural Education Association. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Education in Rural Contexts, Indigenous and Place-Based Education and Teacher Education and Leadership Studies, together about 58% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Rural Educator National Rural Education Association The Rural Educator The Country Teacher NREA Collection. The Rural Educator seeks manuscripts that contribute to our understanding of educational issues in rural contexts at all levels of rural education, including early childhood, p-12 education, post-secondary education, and out-of-school education contexts. Submissions must explicitly address rural education by defining rural and/or by extensively describing the unique rural setting. Submissions should explicitly explain the relationship between rural education and either research methods and findings or the promising practice being presented. Manuscripts that do not explicitly and extensively address rural education will not be considered for publication. Four types of articles are published in The Rural Educator. Research Articles Research Articles are peer-reviewed reports of empirical research that address problems of practice in rural education. Research Articles contribute to our understanding of educational issues in rural contexts. Submissions must explicitly address rural education by defining rural and/or by extensively describing the unique rural setting. Research that happens to be set in a rural setting but does not explicitly address rural education in review of literature, research question, findings and/or discussion/implications will not be published. Research Articles present original, empirical research using a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks. Research articles are typically 25-30 pages in length. Manuscripts over 30 pages may not be sent out for review, or authors who submit manuscripts over 30 pages may be asked to cut length during the review process. Reviews of Research Reviews of Research are peer-reviewed and should focus on a specific topic in rural education. Reviews of research should summarize, synthesize and identify gaps in the research as they relate to rural education contexts. Reviews of Research synthesize research related to a specific topic Reviews of Research should summarize and synthesize specific topics within one of the NREA Research Priorities and identify gaps in the research as they relate to rural education contexts. Reviews of research are generally about 25 pages in length, including references. Peer Review Criteria All mansuscripts should follow APA citations and formatting. All peer reviewed manuscripts should address the significance of the research for rural educatio
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Education
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Education in Rural ContextsSocial Sciences35.2%
- Indigenous and Place-Based EducationSocial Sciences13.2%
- Teacher Education and Leadership StudiesSocial Sciences9.6%
- Educational Leadership and PracticesSocial Sciences5.9%
- School Choice and PerformanceSocial Sciences4.8%
- School Leadership and Teacher PerformanceSocial Sciences4.2%
- Teacher Professional Development and MotivationSocial Sciences3.1%
- Diverse Educational Innovations StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences2.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | Q3 | 900/1698 | 47th |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ERICPublisher website
Other: EBSCO
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.85LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 197OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.04OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 886 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 25 | 25 | 431 |
| 2025 | 34 | 34 | 513 |
| 2024 | 26 | 26 | 566 |
| 2023 | 27 | 27 | 489 |
| 2022 | 30 | 30 | 450 |
| 2021 | 29 | 29 | 512 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 28 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- APA
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use AI Policy
Authors using generative AI must detail its use in methods section and cover letter. Model summary
JRRE and TRE recognize the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. However, we note that its use warrants caution for a variety of reasons, including its documented racial and cultural biases. This policy offers guidance to authors, reviewers, and editors regarding the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies. As AI technologies continue to evolve, so will our policies. Pl…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Authors retain copyright for their work under the Open Access license. Model summary
Under this Open Access license, authors retain copyright for their work.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Statement
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license applied to articles and other works published by the journal. Model summary
The Rural Educator applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to articles and other works we publish. If you submit your paper for publication by The Rural Educator, you agree to have the CC BY license applied to your work. Under this Open Access license, authors retain copyright for their work. In addition, you as the author agree that anyone can reuse your article in whole or part …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy
Immediate open access to content. Model summary
The Rural Educator provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Members of the National Rural Education Association are eligible to receive print copies of The Rural Educator. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of arti…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
Double-blind peer review process for Research Article and Review of Literature sections. Model summary
The Rural Educator uses a double-blind peer review process for manuscripts submitted to the Research Article and Review of Literature sections of the journal. Manuscripts will first be reviewed by members of the editorial team for fit with the journal aims and scope. Scholars familiar with the topic and methodology will be invited to review submissions based on peer review criteria. { top }
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- National Rural Education Association
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0273-446X
- Electronic ISSN
- 2643-9662
- Society / sponsor
- National Rural Education Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 47, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about The Rural Educator
How long does peer review take at The Rural Educator?
Authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of The Rural Educator?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: APA; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index The Rural Educator?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, The Rural Educator is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is The Rural Educator open access, and what is the APC?
The Rural Educator is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .