Small, sometimes multi-cultural, rural schools need specialized preservice teacher education programs to prepare teachers. After outlining the classroom, school, and sociocultural characteristics affecting a teacher's success and survival in a rural community, this paper discusses the apparent lack of rural content in teacher preparation programs…

Test responses of students in grades six and 11 were examined to determine the relationship between school size and learning in the affective domain, i.e., character, cooperation, and attitudes toward school, communication, and change. Results indicated that students in smaller schools have more positive attitudes toward their schools and…

A program using cultural anthropology and ethnographic techniques to prepare teachers for positions in the small elementary and secondary schools characteristic of the mountain west and high plains is presented. As part of this program, a freshman level education requirement introduces students to the special character and positive aspects of…

Three small rural school districts in Montana and Wyoming used alternate school day scheduling to make time for staff and curriculum development inservice programs. The schedule of one short and four long days delivered the instructional time of 175 6-hour days each year. Benefits of alternate scheduling included time for regular inservice…

Academic and social performance of 204 high school students who had attended one-teacher rural elementary schools in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Montana was investigated to determine if small school students were disadvantaged in a larger high school setting. Data gathered by questionnaires from students, school administrators, and counselors…

Questionnaires completed by 374 teachers were used to determine differences in the instructional and noninstructional responsibilities of elementary teachers in very small, small, and medium school districts in Montana. Questions about instructional duties related to number of courses and grade levels taught, pupil/teacher ratio, teacher role in…

Designed to assist rural Montana schools in establishing and maintaining library-media centers, this procedures manual presents basic and specific information on all phases of operating a small school library. The first three chapters set forth the major responsibilities of the school librarian, Montana standards for school library personnel, and…

This book presents research findings and information about school violence, with a focus on strategies for increasing school safety. Articles in the book come from a special edition of the journal Rural Special Education Quarterly, a publication of the American Council on Rural Special Education. The articles have been rewritten to address issues…