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…

The study examined the incomes and expenditures of rural teachers, and the relationship of these to such factors as types of school taught at, teacher's age, years of experience, extent of education, and number and types of dependents. Rural teachers in the states of Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin were…

Four deans of instruction in small, rural junior colleges and four deans of instruction in large, urban junior colleges were interviewed, and faculty members from the small junior colleges were surveyed, in order to ascertain their opinions regarding faculty development procedures. It was found that: (1) deans felt in-service workshops to be…

Boles Independent School District (Texas) serves 360 students and is the poorest district in Texas. Yet, due to the aggressiveness of its superintendent and staff, Boles has pieced together a technology program that equals or surpasses those of larger neighboring districts with more resources. This success is derived from creativity,…

The five states of the Southwest--Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas--represent great diversity in economies, politics, educational settings, and resources. Despite this diversity, research indicates that rural small schools are concerned about the same issues as education as a whole. The purpose of this report is to present the…

Research on social capital and functional communities provides much needed information on the relationship between rural schools and their communities, and its impact on community viability. Schools are critical to the social and economic viability of rural communities; research suggests that social capital in rural areas has decreased…

This book presents the oral histories of one male and seven female retired teachers who began their careers during the 1920s and 1930s in one-room schools in the Texas hill country. These teachers continued to teach until after the desegregation of public schools in the 1960s. The married black couple included began teaching in rural Texas in 1931…

This study describes how some school districts have implemented full motion, two-way interactive video in rural small schools and communities. A prototype and guidelines for future implementation are presented. Researchers studied 14 school districts in the Oklahoma Panhandle and eastern New Mexico and three sites in Texas where the technology has…

The study compared nationwide research findings about the districts, superintendents, teachers, programs, and student performance in 642 public school districts with an enrollment of 900 or less to data from a random sample of school districts of similar size in Texas. Data were gathered from superintendents by questionnaire during the 1982-83…

Many at-risk student intervention programs are not affordable for small rural schools. The Cooperative Alternative Program (CAP), a cooperative dropout prevention program administered by six western Texas rural school districts, is described in this report. The program is designed to meet graduation requirements, teach vocational skills, provide…

A study of K-12 rural school districts enrolling 900 students or fewer in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona used data gathered during the 1981-82 academic year. These data were compared with those from a nationwide survey using the same questionnaire. Qualifying districts were identified: 626 in Texas (56.9% of all Texas public school districts,…

Reporting on actions taken in response to 1978-79 state legislative mandates re: Texas public school curriculum, this paper presents representative rural small school curriculum development activities. Specifically, the following are addressed: results of the Texas Assessment Project (TAP); support units; programs for the gifted and talented;…

A survey was conducted to determine the conditions surrounding adult learning in the area served by Hill Junior College (Texas). Of a sample of 750 local residents, 351 persons (47.8%) responded. Selected sample characteristics were compared with 1970 census data to determine that findings were generalizable to the total population. Respondents…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History's (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for "The Link between Dinosaurs and Birds", along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Course takers report on the annual…

Recognizing the challenges rural districts face in providing broad curricular offerings and supplemental educational services to students, in 2007, the 80th Texas Legislature authorized the creation of a pilot program designed to provide technology-based supplemental educational services to rural school districts that show an overall academic need…