Among the many outside influences on Appalachian culture in the late 19th-early 20th centuries were reformers and educators, many of them women who came to the mountains to work as teachers, settlement workers, and nurses. This paper focuses on settlement schools in eastern Kentucky as the locus of interaction between reformers and mountain women.…

Examines the influence of Norwegian populism, with its emphasis on rural roots and community values, on the development of Norwegian education. Discusses populist traits in Norwegian society and populist educational features: strong common school, weak academic tradition, use of New Norse vernacular, importance of informal learning at home,…

Dewey-inspired educational progressivism in the early 20th century is generally seen as an urban phenomenon. This article traces a tradition of rural progressivism during 1910-50, centered at Teachers College in New York City, and explores the implications of that tradition for educators and rural education reformers today. (Contains 47…

During the early colonial period in Cyprus, British officials ignored Cyprus's distinctive characteristics (widespread Christianity and "European" character) and pursued the universal British colonial policy of education "adapted to the (perceived inferior) capabilities and conditions of clients." By 1930, however, political…

Examines the literature on public libraries and adult education from 1833-present. Proposes that the public library is indeed central to meeting adult education tasks in rural areas. Concludes that, in the absence of outside funding, the potential for adult education as a central function of the public library is limited. (Author/NEC)

Interlaken School (Indiana) was an elite boys' preparatory boarding school that combined Hall's definitive theory of adolescence and Spencer's theory of social evolution into both a philosophy and a pedagogy. Interlaken was portrayed as an isolated mythologized community that combined manual with mental development and believed that adolescent…

This paper examines themes in Maine history and literature related to the character of traditional Maine people, particularly coastal people, and their attitudes toward education. The historical survey touches upon early settlement, subsistence farming, frontiers in the woods and on the islands, influence of the sea and sailing, and influences of…

Examines political, social, cultural, and economic variables that historically have contributed to rural resistance to educational reform. Discusses various roles of schools in the rural community. Demonstrates that the seeds of current debates on issues such as local versus national control of school reform are in the past. Contains 44…

At the turn of the century, over 200,000 one-room schools existed in the United States. These simple, vernacular buildings represented the nation's commitment to education and were also the center of community life. The country school continues to be a powerful cultural symbol. This book consists of three parts. The first section describes country…

Historical developments in rural India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China are the empirical basis of this study which offers a theory of rural development for all Asia keyed to fundamental humanistic values rather than narrower techno-economic considerations. Previous efforts have often been "top-down" processes tending to serve…

The history of statutory and case law pertinent to school reorganization reflects the elaboration of state authority over education during the development of the American Republic. This article considers the legal right of the state to define and redefine the territory served by administrative units that provide direct services to students. Public…

Toward the close of the school year 1912-13 the United States Commissioner of Education sent a letter to all school superintendents who have rural schools under their supervision, asking them to report to the Bureau of Education anything of unusual or special value that had been done in the schools during the past year or two. These…

Music, education, and community and the interactions among these three factors in Kansas during the 19th century offer an opportunity to study the role and function of music education in a sociocultural context. From 1824-1899, 16 Catholic missions were opened in Kansas for American Indians. These schools used music as an adjunct to academic…

The opportunity for religious freedom brought the Amish from Europe to North America as early as 1737. And for many generations, conflicts between the Amish and the U.S. government were limited to Amish objections to military service. However, as the government's regulatory power grew in the 20th century, clashes between the Amish and the state…

This illustrated book chronicles the history of the one-room school in the Midwest and its vital influence on American education from the pioneer era through consolidation after World War II. The Midwest's one-room schools were the most democratic in the nation. Located in small independent school districts, they were sustained with the barest of…