The close-knit, personal nature of small rural communities results in school and community operating as a single integrated social structure. Useful rural school improvement strategies must, therefore, address needs that are recognized by both the local school and the community and must operate in a style congruent with the local setting. Although…

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

A survey of rural life in Leflore County, Mississippi, was made so that rural youth problems could be defined in behavioral terms in an attempt to meet their needs. Data were collected in 1967-68 from 1,496 Negro heads-of-households filling out a questionnaire. The information was grouped into 5 areas: family, physical facilities, health,…

Education of disadvantaged children in rural Leflore County, Mississippi, is evaluated and discussed in this 1969 document by sections: (1) educational needs of Negro children, where recommendations are given for an active vocational counseling and guidance program plus improved inservice education for teachers; (2) educational needs of Negro…

The student bodies in 2 Leflore County schools in Mississippi are described and the number of dropouts and the holding power of these rural schools are estimated on the basis of the total enrollment data of each school during the period between 1960 and 1968. It is noted that there are marked differences in the stability indices and holding power…