This publication contains ten articles concerning the development of human resources in rural areas. It focuses on a broad perspective of rural adult education and the issues facing those who wish to serve rural areas. The articles and their authors are: "Rural Adults and Postsecondary Education" (Jacqueline D. Spears and others);…

This document contains the two issues of "Rural Mathematics Educator" published in 2002. This newsletter of the Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM) includes articles on rural mathematics education, as well as information and descriptions of professional development…

Since the 1990-91 school year, an ongoing project has studied the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in four rural Kentucky school districts. Study methods have included over 1,200 interviews with various stakeholders, observation of over 500 classroom instruction hours, and a comprehensive review of key documents. This…

This document contains the 16 issues of the newsletter "The Link" published during 1995-98. The Link disseminates resources, recent educational research findings, and other information of interest to practitioners in the four states served by Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL): Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.…

The third annual survey of the Illinois Rural Life Panel included questions on school taxes, improvements to strengthen local schools, satellite technology, extracurricular activities, and career opportunities after high school. Results from a sample of approximately 2,000 residents in the 76 Illinois nonmetropolitan counties included: (1) 54…

This special issue of the journal Exceptional Children has the theme "Rural Special Education." Nine articles deal with this theme as follows: (1) "The State of the Art of Rural Special Education" (by D. Helge), looks at recent improvements, remaining challenges, and current functioning; policy recommendations are offered for national and state…

Discusses kindergarten in Finland during the past 100 years. There are over 2,400 kindergartens in Finland, and these attend to over 100,000 children. The kindergartens, which are part of the day care system, use methods based on the teachings of Friedrich Frobel. The general goal of kindergartens is to support the family in bringing up the child…

This report focuses on teaching with the World Wide Web. An introduction describes the Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE's) efforts in urging local schools to integrate information technology into all aspects of their curriculum and in emphasizing the need for technology-focused staff development for Illinois teachers. ISBE supports…

This theme issue discusses family literacy in six articles, covering: (1) visions of family literacy from research and practice; (2) a family-to-family tutoring model (Susan Weinbeck); (3) a strengths learning model (Meta W. Potts); (4) the LVA/GTE (Literary Volunteers of America/General Telephone and Electronics Corporation) family literacy…

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) promotes systemic educational reform based in the culture and philosophy of the Alaska Native world view. AKRSI's first 5-year funding cycle ended in August 2000, and AKRSI was funded for a second 5 years beginning in November 2000. AKRSI activities are…

This newsletter provides examples from four small, rural school districts of how innovative superintendents plan and provide resources and provide staff development, which are two of the six ways that school administrators effect change. The superintendents are located in a small poor district in the Arkansas Mississippi Delta region, a primarily…

Despite skepticism about the viability of an educational investment strategy for rural development, coordination between education and rural employers may be a key to rural economic growth. Interviews with 101 employers in 6 rural counties surrounding Hagerstown, Maryland, as well as a mail survey (95 of the 101 employers responded), examined…

This report examines the development of law-related education (LRE), discusses the extent of its implementation in rural Illinois, and describes the efforts made by the Illinois Institute for Public Understanding About the Law (IIPUAL) in bringing LRE to rural schools. The goals of LRE are to provide students with an understanding of the law and…

As a component of the University of Alaska's Cross-Cultural Orientation Program (X-COP), this journal provides a forum for rural Alaska teachers to share ideas and insights. Articles in this issue discuss: (1) the inadequacies of educational research for defining the essence of effective teaching; (2) making the classroom culturally compatible…

This theme issue of "State Education Leader" contains eight articles on rural education. "The Rural Bellwether" (Kathy Christie) discusses declining enrollment in rural schools, rural problems with teacher shortages and special education funding, issues related to school size and school district size, and distance learning…