Describes and explains various factors in rural education and shows how "A Nation at Risk," the report of the Commission on Excellence in Education, ignores certain rural factors in its recommendations for education. Offers eight recommendations for policymakers who are designing strategies for implementing the commission…

The rural special education context is unique because of the distinct environment and the variety of rural school subcultures. However, little information about rural special education is available prior to the late 1970's, partially because federal agencies lacked a working definition of "rural." Although rural and urban special…

This document reviews problems related to sexual activity among rural U.S. teenagers, successes and failures of teen sex education programs, and problems and needs specific to rural areas. In a recent poll, 89% of adults favored sex education in the schools and 73% supported making birth control information and contraceptives available in school…

This report describes factors distinguishing rural families with special-needs children and their communities from those in non-rural settings. Rural communities have distinct environments and unique strengths and weaknesses, differing even among themselves. A diversity among rural lifestyles, values, resources, and other socio-cultural factors…

Addressing acute problems in delivery of services to rural handicapped students, the document emphasizes the need for relevant preservice training for special education teachers who will work in rural areas. A list of specific elements for inclusion in a rural-focused curriculum philosophy includes: training students possessing appropriate skills…