This document contains the 10 quarterly issues of "Rural Matters: The Rural Challenge News," published from Fall 1997 to Winter 2000 (the final issue). This newsletter focused on projects funded by the Annenberg Rural Challenge, as well as research summaries and opinion pieces on the benefits of small schools, place-based education, and…

This report describes educational applications of slow-scan television (SSTV) teleconferencing, which uses a video signal generated from a standard, low-cost, industrial television camera and compressed to a bandwidth suitable for transmission over telephone lines. Following a brief explanation of the capabilities of SSTV and the required…

"The ERIC Review" announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant to each issue's theme topic. This second issue contains three principal articles: "Issues in Adult Literacy Education," by JoAnn Crandall and Susan Imel; "Emergent Literacy: An Early Reading and Writing Concept," by Carl B. Smith;…

This newsletter issue focuses on programming undertaken to address the health and educational needs of rural families in developing and developed nations. After examining the nature of rural families and rural poverty, the newsletter discusses: (1) the Mon Women's Organization in Thailand; (2) The "Contact With Kids" parent education…

Current research on school effectiveness concludes that differences among schools affect students' academic achievement. An important characteristic of effective schools is providing a safe and secure environment. An example of programs that address this issue are peer mediation or conflict resolution programs. These programs require the combined…

Designed to contribute to the study of specific problems and the identification of educational needs in rural development, this annotated bibliography contains 345 entries limited to the period between 1975 and 1979. Subheadings are: General; Development planning; Adult education; Educational programmes and content; Methods: communication,…

Rural schools typically face multiple challenges related to providing educational opportunities for students and staff. A comparison of curricular offerings in English, foreign languages, and mathematics in a Chicago suburban high school, a rural high school district, and a small rural unit district reveals the curricular disadvantages of small…

This report describes the basic goals, philosophy, and methodology of a rural non-formal education project designed to develop and disseminate educational materials in Ecuador. The majority of the population lives in rural settings where facilities are severely limited and the few learning resources seldom relate to the experience of rural…

Improving the reponsiveness of community colleges to the needs of non-traditional students is the topic of 14 essays, grouped into sections focusing on older adults, the handicapped, and women. David Demko describes a program designed to integrate older adults into a community college's service population. Jared Sharon provides guidelines for…

This document describes a literacy project in rural Ecuador using a modified version of Sylvia Ashton Warner's language experience approach. This method allows learners to approach written culture on their own terms by learning words important to their life, then transferring these works to sentences and stories. The approach reduces the rural…

The document, written in French, presents an overview of educational programs in Senegal where ten to 17-year-old students are taught practical skills. The monograph is intended for UNESCO staff members and educational advisors as they collaborate with governments in developing nations to improve educational programs. The document is presented in…