This brief reports on a day-long workshop where eight rural teaching principals shared the joys and frustrations of their multiple roles. The multiple roles of teaching principals in the school and community result in role conflict and role ambiguity, which leads to stress and anxiety. Newly hired teaching principals are often caught between…

This article emphasizes the need to develop special education policy and practice appropriate for rural students. The article examines recommended practices for improving delivery of services to rural schools, services readily available to rural families and communities, and the role of the rural special educator. (Author/PB)

Points out eight factors consistently associated with effective schools (academic focus, student participation in decision-making, etc.) and eight common problems with effective schools projects (short-term focus, unrealistic expectations, etc.). Summarizes successful projects at a K-12 village school and an urban junior high school. (JHZ)

This booklet is written for educators who want to play a leadership role in the instructional use of computers and other information technology in precollege education. Although it is oriented toward the United States and Canada, many ideas are applicable in other countries. The first part of the book, the preface through Chapter 10, is a…

This paper addresses problems in providing educational services to gifted students in rural areas and discusses feasible solutions. Rural schools face numerous obstacles such as small numbers of identified gifted students; limited resources and funding; locations distant from universities, libraries, and cultural activities; difficulty in…

The standards-driven approach to school reform, exemplified by Goals 2000, shows promise for unifying contemporary efforts by affecting change at the classroom, school, and community levels. The special aspects of the rural context, particularly distance and low population density, set it apart from the urban and suburban schools on which most…

Ever since it was first written into the new nation's Constitution in 1950, achieving universal elementary education has proven an elusive goal for India. This book examines the failure of the Operation Blackboard scheme to establish a minimum norm of essential facilities for primary schools but argues that, in spite of its failure, the scheme has…

This paper addresses the role of rural special education administrators when placing disabled students in regular classrooms. When dealing with inclusion, problems are intensified in rural areas because administrators, teachers, parents, and students come into contact with each other at the grocery store, church, and community events. Because…

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…

Written in 1912, this book addresses the role of teachers in improving rural farm life. Rural-to-urban migration had resulted in the loss of leadership from rural localities and the decline of agriculture, and country life had lost its prestige both socially and economically. This book suggests that the country school is the key to achieving…

The state-of-the-art review addresses the problems faced by rural education in the area of curriculum development and suggests that mechanisms for curriculum development may need to be different or redefined to allow rural schools to operate at their maximum potential. The report looks at the positive and negative factors influencing rural…

This paper addresses the role of distance education as a means for increasing curricular offerings of small and rural secondary schools. Treating distance education as a "technology" risks repeating the same cycle of false hopes and expectations that has historically accompanied the introduction of technology into education. Instead,…

A review of the literature on teacher preparation and inservice programs in rural areas encompasses dilemmas facing rural education, what colleges and universities can do, and implications for colleges and universities. Part 1 describes dilemmas facing rural educators, not only in terms of class load, multiple preparations, extracurricular duties,…

This book addresses the role that rural schools can play in promoting community and developing a community-oriented world view. Specifically, this book suggests that rural schools, through concerted pedagogical and curricular attention to the dynamics of their particular place, can rekindle community allegiance and can nurture the fulfillment that…

A synthesis of research findings addressing effects of population and economic changes on education supply and demand in rural communities also presents policy implications, to help with local decision making. Principal research findings listed include: lack of a statistical relationship between per pupil expenditures and achievement on…