This landscape report explores the impact of earning micro-credentials on the social mobility of rural learners. Through four in-depth case studies, we show how earning micro-credentials may lead to credential attainment, workforce entry, promotions, and/or economic improvements (e.g., salary increase, prioritizing learners impacted by poverty),…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

In every state in the South, the percentage of residents with bachelor's degrees or higher who were born outside the state exceed the percentage born in-state, reflecting their dependence on imported talent over building their own talent-development systems. In Virginia, the Southern state with the highest percentage of residents with a B.A. or…

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,…

Perceived educational strengths and weaknesses of Appalachian schools are examined as indicators of school effectiveness in this study, which is based on the formula that the expectations people have of schools minus the perceptions of how those expectations are met equals a dissonance factor. The School Effectiveness Inventory (SEI), which…

The rural economy has performed badly during the 1980s. While the recession of the early 1980s was responsible for much of the trouble, the slow rural recovery demonstrates the fundamental hurdles facing the rural economy. Central among these are economic disadvantages, including remote locations isolating rural producers from their markets, low…

Although there are many sources of information about "effective schools" programs, those that specifically address the needs of rural areas are often overlooked. This document offers a collection of program descriptions to help educators determine programs and practices that appear to be effective in rural and small schools. Program…

A number of Appalachian initiatives aim to recruit rural doctors. West Virginia's three medical schools require all students to spend time working in rural clinics, where they develop an understanding of and connections to rural communities. In two rural Tennessee counties, East Tennessee State University maintains teaching medical practices…

With the exception of four major metropolitan areas--Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville--Tennessee is a predominantly rural state with 56% (or 79) of its 142 school districts classified as rural. A rural school district is defined as one in which 75% or more of the population lives outside Standard Metropolitan Areas or in which…

Reviews economic and social science theories on the role of the school in economic development. Presents a case study of an underdeveloped rural Tennessee county where school improvement efforts were unsuccessful because of the sociological, political, economic, and cultural setting in which the school system operates. (KS)

A Tennessee program awards stipends to teachers to attend summer classes and a practicum and earn 18 hours of credit in education of children with visual impairments. The program requires that teachers have assurance from their superintendents that they will teach visually impaired students in their school systems after endorsement. (Author/JDD)

Agency coordination and cooperation is necessary to establish quality educational programs in rural areas. An example of rural agency cooperation in Tennessee involves business and industry, church, vocational center, community college, United Way, and state and federal agencies in administering, equipping, staffing, and funding a child care and…

The delivery model of the Birth-through-Three program incorporates interlocking community-based centers with a regional agency (Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative) under the administrative guidance of an advisory council. The program goal is to provide highly qualified professional services to the targeted children/families within…