Using a unique sample of rural Kentucky residents, we demonstrated that, in the domain of operational and competitive environmental uncertainties, self-efficacy beliefs are significantly higher among nascent entrepreneurs than among non-entrepreneurs. We employed the hierarchical logistic regression analysis to demonstrate that this result is…

Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach,…

This report explores the true position of public libraries today, in the minds not only of library users, but of the people who run libraries and those who provide oversight and funding. This study is the first step in the development of a national agenda for libraries and library funding in the 21st century. Findings from this study indicate…

Louisville schools are changing. This is happening because of an open, responsive attitude of teachers, students, administrators and the community. However, some tension must still be alleviated. (MF)

The relative strength of racial and nonracial factors in motivating the public's opinion about busing has both theoretical and policy implications. If nonracial, especially self interest, factors are the strongest motives for opposition, then the success of busing, and of school desegregation in general, will depend upon the ability of the…

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DEVELOP A SET OF DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS AND CRITERIA TO BE USED AS GUIDELINES FOR THE INITIATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES. INFORMATION IS BASED ON AN EXAMINATION OF STUDIES IN OTHER STATES, RELATED LITERATURE, OPINIONS OF THE HEADS OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN KENTUCKY, PRESENT…

This volume records the text of the 1976 hearing held to examine the process and results of court-ordered school desegregation in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Presented is testimony from public school students, educators, administrators, government officials, and representatives of public and private agencies and community organizations. Also…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 was adopted after the Kentucky Supreme Court declared the state's system of schools unconstitutional. The purpose of this study was to identify the sources of information about KERA and to describe community attitudes toward KERA in rural Kentucky school districts during the first few months the law…

Improved health care and family planning services, reduction in sociogeographic isolation, and increased economic development were found to be responsible for declining fertility rates in a rural Eastern Kentucky county during 1960-1980. Contemporary fertility patterns in an area historically exhibiting one of Appalachia's highest fertility rates…

This book documents the story of Alice Lloyd, a Massachusetts woman who founded Caney Creek Community Center and Caney Junior College (now Alice Lloyd College) in eastern Kentucky during the early 20th century. For the past 70 years, the college has enabled thousands of students from Appalachia to obtain a college education at little or no cost.…

This report describes the attitudes of parents, the general public, school principals, and teachers across Kentucky about the implementation of school reforms based on the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Data were gathered from random telephone surveys in the eight geographic regions of the state for each targeted audience based on…

This dissertation examines how stakeholders in an Appalachian Kentucky high school addressed educational problems that they targeted for reform. Set against the backdrop of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), this ethnographic study describes the challenges of effectively coupling top-down state mandates with bottom-up advocacy and…

This dissertation, which won the Dissertation of the Year Award, examines how stakeholders in an Appalachian Kentucky high school addressed educational problems that they had targeted for reform. Set against the backdrop of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), this ethnographic study describes the challenges of effectively coupling top-down…

Rural school districts where ethnocentrism, traditionalism, primary group preference, and social conservatism form the dominant value system could be contributing to their own ineffectiveness through their patterns of personnel selection. This study investigated the influence of rural values on components of personnel selection and the tacit…

A year-long ethnographic investigation examined how stakeholders in an Appalachian Kentucky high school addressed educational problems that they had targeted for reform while resisting state priorities and policies mandated in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Contrasts KERA objectives with cultural themes prominent in this poor…