It is time to stop viewing rural schools and communities as deficient and build on their tremendous assets--small size, an understanding of the connection between humans and nature, greater access to civic life, strong school-community ties, a sense of place and community, and cultural diversity. Examples describe innovative programs initiated by…

The philosophical debate about making high fliers out of low academic achievers in places considered educationally and culturally deprived like rural Appalachia warms the hearts of those who see education as the road to economic well-being for the nation. However, education reform rhetoric must be saleable to rural residents who distrust outsiders…

During the 20th century, the involvement of communities in education has deteriorated, and the school and the community have evolved into separate worlds. This chapter describes ways in which a typical high school has increased its interactions with its own community. Those interactions have two dimensions: to bring the community into the school…

Local boards of education in rural school districts have a unique opportunity to strengthen education through empowering various constituencies. Research shows that people believe in the potential of the local board, but also believe that school boards often fail to move effectively on critical leadership issues. Leadership as a process of…

This paper argues that social, political, and economic circumstances provide better explanations of rural school consolidation than the advertised curricular, pedagogical, or administrative benefits. Modern views of schooling over recent decades emphasize economic development and the need to improve international competitiveness. There is a…

There are major differences between rural and urban education, yet most educational reform efforts have been heavily urban oriented. While reform movements of the 1980s may have benefited urban schools, they have only added to the problems of rural education. Some of the conditions often associated with rural schools are: poverty, reform generated…

The article discusses the educational situation in Queensland and offers an alternative to the present open education plan. It suggests: that traditional education is appropriate for teaching basic skills, as in specific areas of mathematics where one level of mastery may depend on certain knowledge at a lower level; that curricula which are…

Rural school districts often have limited numbers of special educators available, limited financial resources, and schools with very small, isolated populations. These limitations reveal the need for regular educators in the schools to gain skills needed for diagnosis and remediation of mildly handicapped students. This paper suggests utilizing…

This proceedings record contains 87 presentations, including 65 complete or edited transcripts and 22 abstracts. Eighteen papers address the conference theme of creative collaboration, describing cooperative agreements between universities and school districts to provide enhanced high school curricula, college preparation courses, and…

The consolidation of 42 federal education programs into block grants, under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981, will have varied effects that might help or hurt rural or small schools. Legislatures and district superintendents are presently unsure what to do with the block grants, since they are used to more specific federal…

Increased migration to rural communities by urbanites has focused greater attention on the role of the rural community college as the focal point of community activity and the major source of significant leadership and direction in community development efforts. Through its community service programs, the community college can contribute to…

This paper is the personal journey of one teacher from a rural childhood, through a small university, to a rural school, and eventually to the city. It contrasts the intense challenges that rural teachers and students face with the unique opportunities afforded them by virtue of being rural. It includes an attempt to piece together the factors…

This paper discusses succession planning for rural educational administrators, focusing on management succession practices, responsibilities, and policies that ensure the efficient and effective transition of rural administrators. In planning their human resources, all organizations must match the needs of the organization with the shifting needs…

The development of effective policies to improve rural schools is impeded by the lack of a consistent definition of "rural" and a paucity of good rural education research. The argument for consolidating small rural schools into larger ones is based on the assumptions that larger school systems can achieve economies of scale that reduce…

Presents an overview of issues and concerns related to rural education and schools in 12 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Major problems include lack of access to specialized resources and supporting institutions and rural diseconomics. Relevant issues are organization, teacher training, and…