The problem of rural education, specifically in the south, is not a single problem, but a set of related problems. This paper summarizes the historical perspective of education's importance in the rural South and the attitudes of the general populace. Illiteracy, dropout rates, and the need to retrain workers losing jobs in agriculture and…

Although rural education is entering an era of opportunity in terms of both youth and adult needs, the capacity of rural areas to provide needed educational services may be diminished due to rapid economic and social change, particularly in agriculture. Three federal policies operating over the past two decades have created an unfavorable…

Country schools in eastern and central Kansas are explored from six different aspects: country schools as historic sites; teachers (their roles, rules, and restrictions); reading, writing, arithmetic, and recitation (a day in a rural school); country schools and the Americanization of ethnic groups; country schools as community centers; and…

Sex equity researchers have identified four areas that demand the attention of rural and small school administrators: inadequate textbooks, student gender differences in knowledge/attitudes about women, inadequate student knowledge of and attitudes toward women in society, and messages of lack of status/importance of women found in the hidden…

A meeting of education finance scholars discussed finance issues relevant to rural schools and communities. This paper summarizes major themes that emerged during the meeting. Notions of efficiency and economies of scale have contributed to widespread consolidation of rural schools and school districts. The value of community is not easily…

For many years, farmworkers in Zimbabwe have been a marginalized and neglected community. This book describes the lives of hired farmworkers' children in their own words. Over 850 children aged 10-17 were interviewed or wrote essays in English or Shona. Nearly all the children were in elementary school in grades 4-7. Many farm children undergo…

In response to a Montana School Boards Association (MSBA) resolution, this report develops alternatives and recommendations on school district reorganization for submission to the Montana state legislature. The first section examines the history of school district establishment and consolidation in Montana, and points out public opposition to…

Critiques views of the one-room country school experience in the Midwest states. Describes advances an alternative interpretation grounded in the social, political, and economic circumstances that impinged on local institutions, arguing that these schools may not have been the "laboratories of democracy" that conventional wisdom calls…

Newly adopted objectives for improving Arizona graduate educational efforts for student teachers in remote, rural areas are presented, specifically regarding the increased use of current information technology resources, such as television and computer modem courses. Current options as well as future possibilities are considered, such as…

The most widely accepted classification system of institutions of higher education, the Carnegie system, does not provide any sub-groupings for the category of two-year institutions. This lack of precision has inhibited the understanding of the diversity among and between community colleges, their missions, functions, curricula, students, and…

Rural school boards have a unique opportunity to impact education by involving teachers, administrators, and the community in policy development. To make policy an instrument of empowerment, policymakers should consider the following steps: (1) seeking information from any and all groups that the policy will affect to develop a statement about…

Proactive steps should be taken at the national level to ensure that rural America receives educational and economic opportunities comparable to those provided to the nation's urban regions. This report, by the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) Commission on Small/Rural Community Colleges, details policy and administrative…

Demographic trends show an increase in the number of Black and Hispanic students in the United States, whereas the number of minority teachers is decreasing. This paper explores possible causes of this phenomenon, its implications, and some alternative responses aimed at improving the situation. Cultural isolation on college campuses and state…

School reorganization has been used extensively as a strategy to deal with the problems of small and rural schools. However, there is no comprehensive evidence to prove that consolidation has met the problems of finance, staff, facilities, and curriculum for which it has been advocated, nor are consolidation's disadvantages and ill-effects of the…

While small rural colleges have much the same goals as larger institutions, they have fewer resources with which to work, and therefore their management problems are unique. In the areas of staffing, time management, staff development, and recruitment and promotion, the small college can increase management effectiveness. Despite increasing…