Children spend more time in school than in any social institution outside the home. And schools probably exert more influence on children's development and life chances than any environment beyond the home and neighbourhood. The purpose of this book is to document some important ways schools influence children's development and to describe various…

This riveting account of Dennis Littky and how his ideas turned around a troubled rural high school--the first school named to the acclaimed Coalition of Essential Schools--gives you a behind-the-scenes perspective on how principal leadership can accomplish positive change. Read how Littky's philosophy of personalized learning--one student at a…

Commonwealth College was the longest lived and most notorious of the resident labor colleges operating during the 1920s-30s. Founded in 1923 at NewLlano Cooperative Colony in Louisiana, the school was modeled on the self-maintenance characteristics of an abortive pre-war experiment in social education: Ruskin College. Disputes over priorities with…

This book is a collection of stories from secondary school educators who have included students with disabilities in their classrooms. It profiles inclusive school systems in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the nation, and describes strategies teachers have used to successfully include all students. Specific chapters include: (1)…

Jacob Eschbach Yoder was one of the many northern schoolteachers who went south to assist in educating the newly freed African American population in the years immediately following the Civil War. Impelled by a religious fervor stemming from his upbringing in the Mennonite faith and especially by the educational ideals he had absorbed from his…

Although violence and substance use are usually considered urban problems, rates of violence and substance use in rural areas are catching up to urban rates. This collection of six articles explores violence and substance use in rural America, the relationship between the two, the factors contributing to these problems, and effective preventive…

This yearbook of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS) is designed to give a perspective on rural science education. It is presented in a sequence which leads from the definition and philosophy of rural science education, to the status of rural science education, research implications, the integration of science within…

This book documents the history of the prairie schoolhouse through text and photographs. The prairie schoolhouse was a product of the Western Homestead Era, those years beginning late in the 19th century when the federally owned grass prairies east of the Rockies and the sagebrush country of the interior Northwest were opened to farming.…

This book describes the teaching experiences of Helen Hussman Morris, who taught in a one-room school in rural Oklahoma during the early 1930s. Her story calls attention to some of the educational issues that were present in the 1930s and that are still being addressed at the local, state, and national levels, including curriculum, facilities,…

This book tells the story of the 1989-90 basketball season at Northfield High School, a small rural school in Wabash County, Indiana. That year, Steve McClure began his fourth season as varsity basketball coach at Northfield with a 56-14 record. For McClure, basketball was more than team play; basketball was an integral part of personal growth for…

In this book, the Kentucky novelist, poet, and teacher Jesse Stuart describes his experiences as student and teacher. Chapter 1 recounts the influence of his father, who instilled the principle of learning through play and the value of imagination and memory, and catalogs young Jesse's teachers at Plum Grove School. Chapter 2 describes his high…

Part One of this book discusses the curricular cases, curricular changes, needed changes in instructional delivery, and the visible and invisible dropout. Part Two provides new data on delinquency and dropouts, alternative centers for learning, noncurricular changes, immigrant and seasonal farm workers, and current prevention practices. This book…

It is now widely recognized that small schools are more productive and effective than larger schools. Yet, public officials and professional educators in many rural areas continue to believe that small schools are inefficient and ineffective, a way of thinking reflected in closed schools, angry residents, and long bus rides for students. About a…

Technology holds the key for bridging the gap between access to quality education and the need for enhanced learning experiences. This book contains case studies on divergent themes of personalized learning environments, inclusive learning for social change, innovative learning and assessment techniques, technology and international partnership…

Alex Lord, a pioneer inspector of rural British Columbia (Canada) schools, shares in these recollections of his experiences in a province barely out of the stagecoach era. Traveling through vast northern territory, using unreliable transportation, and enduring climate extremes, Lord became familiar with the aspirations of remote communities and…