To address social problems in rural areas, it is important to combine the generalist model of social work, which stresses intervention at the individual level, with a sustainable social development model that directs intervention efforts toward social institutions and cultural practices. Curriculum implications for social work education are…

Examines the widening gap between rich and poor in Latin America, and the troubling performance of new Latin American democracies. Reviews human-capital, neoconservative, neoliberal, functionalist, and social democratic theories about education and poverty. Presents eight theses about the state, poverty, and education, and calls for education to…

Develops a framework for examining how social capital contributes to the well-being of rural communities. Reviews the educational and social science literature on social capital, contrasting rational choice and embeddedness perspectives. Introduces the concept of entrepreneurial social infrastructure, which adds equality, inclusion, and agency to…

In this paper we address a perceived gap in the workplace learning literature, for there is very little writing which successfully integrates the issues of individual learners into predominantly social theories of learning. The paper draws upon data from four linked research projects to address this problem. Following an analysis of the…

Personal autonomy is a fundamental ideal in American culture. When the autonomy of a person with reduced capacity is restricted or limited by law and a guardian is appointed, the issue becomes critical to our understanding of social justice. Preservation of autonomy remains a core social value even while the legal system moves to erode personal…

This article discusses the history of the sociology of deviance and the exclusion from society of individuals who do not meet norms, and argues for a sociology emphasizing acceptance of differences on individual, group, and societal levels. Types of relationships based on mutual acceptance are discussed along with generalizations regarding the…

While most economists agree that educational attainment contributes to national economic performance, studies have not generally confirmed a similar conclusion with respect to rural areas. This paper examines the relationships between rural education and economics. The new aim of American education, restoration of national economic…

How we go about labeling and conceptualizing the social problem of burnout reveals much about the underlying values and assumptions of our culture. An examination of the history of social science and related, applied fields during the last 150 years, reveals two different paradigms, i.e., ways of viewing the world based on untested assumptions and…

Recalls the publication of the 1948 special issue of "Journal of Social Issues" on the social psychology of disability, speculates on the magazine's influence on changes in the field between 1948 and 1988, and discusses possible future developments. (Author/BJV)

Analysis of essays by Black students in an urban community college demonstrates that some errors in adult Black students' writing cannot be analyzed merely within the traditional hierarchy of rules for writing. Consideration of sociological factors is germane to an evaluation of students' writing ability. (BJV)

Presents a collective behavior model for examining the population turnaround (urban to rural migration) of the 1960s/1970s as a specific form of mass movement. Specifies the value-added process that produced this particular episode at this particular point in social history. Explores factors influencing decline in turnaround migration. (Author/MH)

Argues the importance of context to the description, theory, and understanding of human behavior because it influences children's primary group relations with family members, teachers, and peers. The article explains that, to be useful for children, social policies must inform the public on how its projected changes will influence socialization…

Reviews economic and social science theories on the role of the school in economic development. Presents a case study of an underdeveloped rural Tennessee county where school improvement efforts were unsuccessful because of the sociological, political, economic, and cultural setting in which the school system operates. (KS)

Presents a critical appraisal of Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve" (1994) and of its analyses of social class, ethnic differences, and public policy proposals. It refutes as cultural superstition the book's theories on the role of intelligence in the social stratification of postindustrial America and the effects of IQ on social…

Outlines problems in reconciling tensions among theories of citizenship, democracy, and multiculturalism in the context of capitalist societies, and resulting implications for comparative education scholars. Discusses the Enlightenment as foundation of citizenship, feminist criticism, postcolonialism, critical race theory, and social movements.…