This book explores how community functions in "Bremer," a small rural town in eastern Washington. Human interactions in a variety of contexts are analyzed within a framework that posits three distinct eras of social and economic organization: community-control, mass-society, and information eras. Contexts examined are farming (the…

Addressing the question of economic growth, this book focuses on the implications of industry re: Polish social structure, organization of farms, and changes in rural culture and large social groups. Emphasizing way and quality of life, this book includes the following major sections and article titles: (1) Industrialization and Changes in the…

This book includes studies of globalization-related social changes in rural areas of the United States and other countries and implications of these studies for sociological theory. Although no chapter focuses exclusively on education, education-related themes include rural school dropouts and intergenerational poverty, the migration of rural…

For many years, farmworkers in Zimbabwe have been a marginalized and neglected community. This book describes the lives of hired farmworkers' children in their own words. Over 850 children aged 10-17 were interviewed or wrote essays in English or Shona. Nearly all the children were in elementary school in grades 4-7. Many farm children undergo…

A series of chapter essays delves into the author's experiences as a high school teacher in Vermont's rural "Northeast Kingdom." In essays on such subjects as the Future Farmers of America, sex, courtesy, parents, college, and lovers' quarrels, anecdotal narratives are woven together with reflections on the challenges of teaching,…

Career and career-related preferences rural youth made and estimation of degree to which choices were translated into adult behavior were investigated by tracing a rural sample of southern 1968 high school graduates through the first four years of post-high school. Focus was on choices expressed and attainments experienced with respect to…

The International Learning Group on Youth and Community Development (ILG) was formed to examine the convergence of youth development and community development. In 1999, ILG commissioned a set of papers from young people involved in national efforts to engage youth in the political processes of their countries and brought ILG members together for a…

Written in 1939, this book outlines fundamental Catholic principles and policies that address problems associated with the agricultural system and rural living during the early 20th century. The manifesto was derived from Catholic social philosophy and espouses the benefits of an occupation in agriculture, including the development of private…

This book documents the history, successes, and failures of Save the Children's farmworker program in Zimbabwe, 1981-98. The report explores workers' past and present living and working conditions on commercial farms and describes how the program promoted a progression from workers with a migrant mentality to the building of functional…

This research monograph is based on papers from a technical review meeting of the same name, held April 26-27, 1994. It provides information about the special nature or context of rural communities that might impact patterns of drug and alcohol consumption and delivery of prevention and treatment services; health, social, and economic consequences…

Characterized by limited financial resources, course offerings, vocational education programs, faculty, and administrators, rural schools have a student population that is generally poorer, less motivated, more culturally deprived, and more isolated than its urban counterpart. Consequently, the rural school teacher has an especially demanding job,…

Homelessness in small towns and rural areas is on the rise, and a substantial portion of the rural homeless consists of families with children. This book draws on interviews and case studies of over 300 homeless children and their families, primarily in New Hampshire, and on supporting statistics to provide individual and sociological perspectives…

This book examines the education, training, and skill supply of the rural workforce; the role of rural workforce quality in rural development; and the barriers that prevent many rural people from obtaining the skills needed for good jobs. Data are drawn from large national surveys of schools, students, and households. The first three chapters…

Youth employment is the focus of this compilation of 11 working papers (by selected specialists) developed to aid the National Commission for Manpower Policy (NCMP) in its ongoing efforts to develop a national manpower policy. An introductory section comments on the overall needs/conclusions revealed by the policy papers. Policy paper titles and…