The New Opportunity School for Women in Berea, Kentucky, is a 3-week residential program for low-income women who need jobs. The program offers courses in resume writing, interview skills, computer basics, and building self-esteem. Women are placed in jobs on Berea College's campus, cultural opportunities are provided through field trips, and…

This double issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" focuses on one of the central components of complementary learning: family involvement. As outlined in the Theory & Practice article, investments in family involvement are important across ages and settings and through the co-constructed efforts and shared responsibilities of many…

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…

Common characteristics were investigated in four effective secondary schools in the rural Appalachian regions of Kentucky and Tennessee. A double loop process was used to select schools from a pool recommended by the Chief State School Officers of Kentucky and Tennessee. Schools were rated on aspects of student performance and teacher and…

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…

This paper examines factors related to the reduction of certified school personnel in Eastern Kentucky rural school districts. The economy of Eastern Kentucky has relied heavily on the coal industry, which during the past several years has suffered losses resulting in job layoffs and closure of companies. Economic distress caused a declining…

This paper discusses the concepts of Human Resources Development (HRD), andragogy (adult learning), and transfer of training as factors to be considered when designing training for special education teachers in rural schools. A critical question facing HRD professionals who design and deliver inservice training for special education teachers in…

The results of a study of six rural Appalachian high schools in Kentucky and Tennessee are presented. Multiple data sources were used to identify the relative effectiveness of these schools. Data were collected via administration of the: Wayson School Climate and Context Inventory to a stratified random sample of 20 faculty; Likert's…

This manual, constituting "a design to institutionalize auxiliary personnel in education in rural schools in America," deals with the recruitment, selection, training, utilization, and career development of paraprofessionals. (It is an outgrowth of a 1967 six-week training program for teacher-aide trainees at Morehead State University,…

This study provides a descriptive statistical analysis of the incidence of students who participate in the federal free/reduced lunch program and who are identified for a gifted education program at three Kentucky middle schools. There are 2,000 students enrolled in the three schools and the free/reduced lunch incidence varies from 60 percent to…

Faced with mandated reforms of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, a mountain community grappled with the challenges of coupling top-down state mandates with bottom-up advocacy and engagement. A year of participant observation revealed six interrelated and paradoxical themes that emerged as these Appalachians created local ownership of…

This paper describes the context of education at two Appalachian middle schools and examines family, community, and school factors related to the academic success of economically disadvantaged and middle-class students. The 429 students at two rural middle schools in Appalachian Kentucky and Tennessee were assigned to low socioeconomic status…

The Southern Rural Development Center in cooperation with the University of Kentucky sponsored a workshop which brought together extension and research personnel interested in rural economic development concerns (i.e., inadequate water supplies, sewer systems, and schools). The proceedings include "Community Growth Management: The Land-Grant…