This fact sheet provides an overview of rural schools, people, and labor markets to help vocational educators better understand the needs of rural Americans. It is based on "A Portrait of Rural America: Conditions Affecting Vocational Education Policy" (Rosenfeld 1981). Data is presented on population trends, poverty, employment…

An effective staff development program for rural teachers will have identified the needs to be met, will incorporate good management principles, and will make use of a variety of resources--the community itself, nonprofessional staff, business and industry, and shared teaching efforts. Distinctive staff development needs of rural teachers may…

This digest reviews research on the status of rural student achievement and schooling conditions and describes variations across the nation and the states. Between 1992 and 1996, rural students began to outperform nonrural students on the 8th-grade mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Despite this aggregate…

Rural and Urban Images: Voices of Girls in Science, Mathematics, and Technology was a 3-year project that began in fall 1995 with a group of sixth-grade girls and followed the same girls through eighth grade. The project took place in two West Virginia counties, but this videotaped documentary features its implementation in rural McDowell County…

This ERIC Digest reviews past and present rural educational philosophy, focusing on the views of Wendell Berry, a Kentucky farmer and novelist who in recent years has emerged as a leading American philosopher. The major difference underlying rural and urban living is the relationship of people with nature. Rural living is much more closely related…

"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;…

Rural gifted programs should be developed by the consumers in rural communities and should focus on the needs and strengths of the community. The unique aspects of rural schools should be used to develop defensible community-based programs. General gifted education procedures, such as developing peer groups and psychologically secure environments,…

An effective way to help develop a strong rural educational program is to establish a business partnership between the rural school and the business community. Once a relationship is set up, the advantages for both the schools and business community could prove beneficial to the entire rural community. By cooperating with the rural schools in…

This ERIC Digest reports on the educational aspirations of rural youth compared with students living in urban and suburban areas. Research indicates that in comparison to urban youth, rural young people felt their parents were much more supportive of their taking full-time jobs, attending trade schools, or entering the military rather than…

Rural community colleges have an important role to play in the economic development of their communities and in preparing community members for technological, economic, and societal changes. Community-based programming (CBP) is one tool utilized by colleges to become aware of local problems by collaborating with citizens, leaders, and…

This book develops a framework to help policymakers and policy analysts understand and judge policy options, so they can construct alternatives to the reorganization of rural, small school districts. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the book by stating the objectives and providing working definitions for "school district reorganization" and…

This ERIC digest synthesizes research characterizing the economic climate in which rural schools operate and reports on the traditional strategies used to create greater economic support for rural school districts. The benefits of steady urban economic growth have not been shared, generally, by rural areas; this has led to inadequate financial…

This book aims to help parents, community members, and educators find resources, design school options, and take action together to improve small rural schools in ways that meet community and student needs. Chapter 1 discusses the virtues of smallness, outlines basic assumptions about the role and nature of good education, examines the…

Changing socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic forces have caused educational nonparticipation among adults to be treated as a social issue. Recent research has attempted to combine dispositional, situational, and environmental factors into composite models of participation. These models have suggested the following categories of deterrence…

Organizations and programs with a major emphasis in rural education and small schools are listed in this directory. The entries--derived from a survey conducted in late 1985 and early 1986--are listed alphabetically by state within national, regional, state, and university categories. A brief description of the activity's function is followed by…