This manual for professionals who offer, or are interested in offering, educational programs for family caregivers identifies obstacles to offering such programs and describes effective practices for dealing with these obstacles. The document's emphasis is on the process of providing educational programming, and not the content of the programming.…

As the national war on drugs continues, children and youth are told to "just say no" but are seldom given the information and skills to sort out the mixed signals coming from peers, adults, and the mass media. This guidebook presents examples of three approaches to community "storytelling" projects through which children and…

Amish children are at a disadvantage in the rural public school because of their unique traditional upbringing and multilingual society. One of the greatest areas of risk is language arts. This document provides resources and instructional tips for teachers teaching writing to Amish children in rural elementary schools. The Amish are a linguistic,…

This final report describes a project in Vermont which developed, implemented, evaluated, and disseminated a program development model for establishing new, and for improving existing, comprehensive early childhood special education services to young (birth to 5 years) children with disabilities and their families in rural settings. The model…

This manual is designed to provide communities and development workers in the developing world with information about some organizations that provide resources for use in rural developmental efforts. Discussed in the introductory section of the guide are the role of the development worker in Third World nations, types of resources, procedures for…

The curricular and extracurricular responsibilities of teaching in a small school district require uniquely prepared teachers. Rural teachers often need additional background in instructional methods for teaching reading, content areas other than their specialty, discipline techniques, use of community resources, and individualized diagnosis and…

Designed to create an awareness of health problems among children in Third World settings, the board game uses simulation and role playing to help participants identify the symptoms and consequences of six childhood diseases preventable by vaccination: measles, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and tuberculosis. The game also helps…

The Virginia Tech Technical Assistance Center is a collaborative effort among the state education agency, local school districts, and Virginia Tech. The center and its two components, the Severe-Profound Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and the Mild-Moderate TAC, are operated under the school's Institute for the Study of Exceptionalities,…

One way to develop creative solutions to problems facing rural education today is through cooperative projects sponsored by schools and colleges and funded by small incentive grants. In 1983, the Council of Chief State School Officers, with grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, awarded 39 planning grants for $2,000 to enhance/facilitate…

The arts should be considered part of the basic content of any school curriculum. The arts teach us about the central nature of what it means to be human. They are an essential part of the curriculum for all learners across all ranges of abilities and talents in all schools, but perhaps especially in rural schools, where access to museums, the…

This collection of five issues of the PRISE Reporter focuses on concerns regarding the education of the handicapped. In addition to a major article, each issue typically includes publication reviews, test reviews, instructional material reviews, a research brief, and a listing of dissemination events. Major articles have the following titles and…

The one room school is a challenging educational setting for both teacher and student. Isolation of the school, limited availability of educational resources, and the demanding role of the school as the only formal educational institution within the community are conditions which make classroom efficiency an important consideration for the…

A proposed 3-year project in Albany, New York will train 90 senior citizen volunteers to work in rural special education classrooms and with handicapped children and their parents in the children's homes. The project goal is the creation of a network of training systems and personnel to assist schools in improving special education services.…

Small and rural schools can use the new technologies of distance education to broaden curricular offerings while facing low student enrollments and increased costs. Courses offered via audio teleconferencing permit live teacher/student interaction and often use videotape as well as two-way audio components. Programs from the University of…

Poverty prevalent in rural areas is associated with unequal representation in gifted programs. Some impediments to equal access include cultural prejudice, family distrust of schools, the stigma of academic success, inappropriate identification practices, and poor funding for rural programs. Five rural states have adopted measures to promote…