This case study examines the efforts of the Michigan Agricultural College (Michigan State University, hereafter MAC) to promote agricultural science and agricultural education. It promoted both, simultaneously, by collaborating with farmers' organizations to conduct agricultural education (extension) through, most notably, institutes, bulletins,…

This descriptive study involving over 50 students, both undergraduate and graduate nursing students. A modified Community Service Attitudes Scale was given pre and post service-learning activity to the students. Students overwhelmingly reported an increase in their cultural awareness, their ability to work effectively with others and their feeling…

Recent research in the State of Michigan has shown homelessness among children to be a key factor predicting student achievement in both rural and urban areas, yet little attention has been given, thus far, to understanding where homeless students in Michigan attend school and how their needs might differ depending on their geographic location.…

In this mixed-methods study, we examine the potential of place-based stewardship education (PBSE) for nurturing rural students' community attachment and aspirations to contribute to the preservation of the environmental "commons." Analyzing pre- and post-experience surveys (n = 240) and open-ended responses (n = 275) collected from…

This book focuses on the topic of the multiple-stakeholders that comprise the education community across the P-20 continuum. In various ways and forms, the authors of the chapters found within this book promote the importance of engaging with the diverse array of stakeholders in order to truly improve education in an increasingly interconnected…

This paper reports on an ethnographic study of administrators, faculty, parents and community members in one remote Michigan school district. The purpose of the study is to describe and explain how Michigan's educational reform perspective--arguably similar to the education reform perspectives of many states--encountered the educational…

Many reports on rural education give little attention to digital learning. At most, they tend to note either infrastructure needs or the potential of remote course access, with little focus on instruction, outcomes, or exemplars. This report intends to begin correcting that imbalance by connecting the dots between rural regions, rural education,…

High-poverty schools in rural areas and small towns are under attack from state policy makers who want to consolidate these schools in order to save money. In addition to calls for consolidation, rural schools also are threatened by unfair and inadequate funding formulas.

As part of the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) initiative, the Carsey Institute has been investigating broad trends between rural community types, including the education level of residents and their parents. Since 2007, Carsey researchers have conducted over 17,000 telephone surveys with randomly selected adult Americans from…

While other studies of local efforts to promote small town growth have generally shown negative results, this study of 88 small northwestern Michigan towns during the 1970s focused on external ties and contacts of local influentials and tended to support the growth machine hypothesis. Extensive metropolitan contacts increased population/program…

As the concept of community is changing, emphasis in community analysis is changing from a geographic focus to examination of interest clusters within a geographic location. Village communities are declining while town-country communities are becoming more numerous. The suburban community is a recent development, and although it develops its own…

A 55-item questionnaire was distributed to all of the Community School Programs in Michigan which were partially reimbursed by the State in 1975-76. Ninety-eight percent of the questionnaires were returned. Thirteen components existed in over 90% of the programs and are considered to be necessary for a viable Community School Program. The results…

The recent, widespread trend toward rural migration can create disturbances in the organization of the host community by overloading community services and by creating conflict between oldtimers and newcomers. To obtain information about community disturbances and migration in Michigan, questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 21,792…

A rural township in one of the fastest growing counties in northern Michigan was selected as a prototype for changes in small rural communities experiencing rapid population growth due to inmigration. In 1973, 180 permanent residents and 58 seasonal homeowners in Hayes Township completed questionnaires covering household composition; family…

This fact sheet presents a snapshot of important facts from "Higher Education in Michigan: Overcoming Challenges to Expand Access," which examines access to postsecondary degrees and institutions in underserved regions of Michigan. [For the full report, see ED501512.]