The paper suggests an anthropological framework for new professional conceptualizations of schooling and education which can help to redefine the larger problems of relating education to social and developmental purposes. The focus is upon rural communities since some of the best current research comes from rural settings and is relevant to those problems usually associated with rural development; but the applicability is not limited to rural settings. The anthropological models are from traditional disciplinary concerns with isolated small communities and are better adapted to the understanding of social institutions at the local level than at national and international levels. Topics are: schools, schooling, education, and culture; school activities and functions; and case studies of rural schools in Thailand and the Philippines. (NQ)