Much of the Northwest Region (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) is rural in nature. A characteristic of the extractive economies such as timber, agriculture, mining, and fisheries is that they are generally located in small communities isolated by distances. While schools in these communities face the same challenges as those in…

In this paper, Norwegian research on the relationship between the school and the local community during the past 30 years is reviewed. The Norwegian context of schooling is briefly described, pointing out the rural-urban conflict. The review is organized into two phases: research in the expansive and contractive phases of the Norwegian welfare…