Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

The eight early childhood educators who participated in this study were admitted into a 60-credit statewide distance-delivered Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program at the University of Alaska. All eight educators were women of Alaska Native ancestry who lived and worked in remote and rural Native communities. Seven of these teachers…

The inaugural issue of this annual journal explores issues affecting art education practices in Alaska and seeks to contribute to a national dialogue on art education policy. "Art as General Education" (Harry S. Broudy) addresses the essential value and nature of the arts in general education. It argues for visual arts education as a key…

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…

The purpose of this booklet is to give beginning or first-year teachers in rural Alaskan one- or two-teacher schools some practical, effective, and useful suggestions and guidance in their teaching and living situations. Those individuals who are currently training and studying to be teachers in rural Alaska might also benefit from the…

In this collection, eight master teachers with extensive experience in small, rural Alaska schools describe some of the ways they have adapted instruction to rural Alaskan circumstances. These papers discuss: (1) the characteristics of effective rural teachers; (2) adapting the "Coping!" curriculum for affective education to the cultural…

This study is a "teaching case." It is a description of events written to help education students understand the complex, ambiguous situations which arise in rural teaching. The limitations of scientific rules and principles for teacher training are especially obvious in rural Alaska schools--where teachers who are typically Caucasian…

In this collection, nine master teachers with extensive experience in small, rural Alaska schools describe classroom management techniques that have proven effective in their multigraded classrooms. Over half the document consists of one paper, the last in the volume, entitled "More like a School Family than Just a Teacher and His or Her…

This study is a "teaching case." It is a description of events written to help education students understand the complex, ambiguous situations that arise in rural teaching. The limitations of scientific rules and principles for teacher training are especially obvious in rural Alaska schools--where teachers who are typically Caucasian…

This case study describes an experienced high school teacher's difficulties in an Alaskan town with severe tensions between Caucasian and Eskimo students and between community members and teachers. This "teaching case" helps preservice teachers understand the complex, ambiguous situations which arise in rural teaching. The limitations of…

This vocational guidance model is designed to help new rural counselors, itinerant counselors, or teacher/advisors provide rural Alaskan high school seniors with a series of career and vocational experiences designed to facilitate the transition from high school to a job or to postsecondary training. The model is organized in four phases. In the…

Key points of presentations are captured in this report of a conference which addressed issues of concern to educators in Alaska's small schools and provided an opportunity for educators to share classroom approaches that work for them. A total of 77 presentations are briefly summarized. Contents are organized under the following headings: (1)…