As far as Appalachia, part of the problem is that even if they do get an education, there’s nowhere to USE that education unless they move far from home. Kind of a vicious circle.
But the culture is deep-rooted. If you remember the comic strip “L”ll Abner” drawn by Al Caps. I thought it th wildest exaggeration until I took a road trip in 1960 to Oak Ridge, TN, looking at the site. Then I went straight west into the hills and, lo and behold, right along the side of the highway was a replica of the Yokum family cabin. The biggest change since is that those cabins have been replaced by”double-wides” and the average town has all the chains instead of the one “general store” of earlier generations. Even those who “escape” to th outside world do not get away from it all. I have a relative whose family still lives deep in the hills. She is bright, a scholarship student who met her husband in college. High native intelligence, but her world view is very narrow. Despite her escape, she has been crippled by her upbringing.