The theory upon which this study is based led to four predictions: (1) the small number of pupils in small schools creates opportunities to develop close teacher-pupil relationships and enables teachers to consider pupils' individual needs; (2) small schools can provide opportunities for fruitful co-operation among staff and, consequently, create…

The Small Schools Curriculum Project in Newfoundland aims to develop curricular and pedagogical solutions to the problems identified with multigrade classrooms. Concludes that multigrade classrooms are (1) a prevalent and permanent feature of education in Newfoundland; (2) a unique form of educational organization; and (3) potentially feasible…

A former student reminisces about attending the Organic School in Fairhope, Alabama, in the 1950s. Founded in 1903, the school pioneered child-centered education; had multigraded classes; incorporated dance, pottery, weaving, and art into the curriculum; and was guided generally by the philosophy that education is not preparation for life, but…

Small, sometimes multi-cultural, rural schools need specialized preservice teacher education programs to prepare teachers. After outlining the classroom, school, and sociocultural characteristics affecting a teacher's success and survival in a rural community, this paper discusses the apparent lack of rural content in teacher preparation programs…

This paper reports a study of curriculum and teaching methods in 10 Old Order Mennonite one-room schools in Pennsylvania. It provides a review of the historical background and cultural characteristics of the Old Order Mennonites. The one-room schools examined in the study are similar in structure and instruction to U.S. public one-room schools of…

The English curriculum for grades 10-12 at Kansas High School, a small rural school in Eastern Illinois, consists of mini-courses with an enrollment of 7-20 students. Students must pass the ninth grade English course before they are permitted to register for mini-courses; they are required to take English as sophomores and juniors. During this…

Examines the special characteristics of small rural schools and stresses the importance of programs preparing teachers to teach in rural areas. Describes a program at Bishop University that provides preservice and inservice education for rural educators in Quebec. Includes additional suggestions for meeting the professional development needs of…

Six teachers from small and rural schools throughout the Northeast were selected as the 1990-91 Laboratory Fellows by the Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast and Islands. These teachers were chosen for their exceptional strategies for incorporating multilevel grouping in their classrooms, grades 6-12. This publication…

In this collection, nine master teachers with extensive experience in small, rural Alaska schools describe classroom management techniques that have proven effective in their multigraded classrooms. Over half the document consists of one paper, the last in the volume, entitled "More like a School Family than Just a Teacher and His or Her…

In 1973, there were 56 one- and two-room elementary schools in Prince Edward Island (Canada). As part of a descriptive survey of these schools, now closed by consolidation, researchers visited each school in 1973 and recorded details of the buildings, facilities, and school organizations. Teachers from 47 schools and their 737 students in grades…

An innovative, flexible scheduling technique for advanced levels of a foreign language program is described. The technique, predicated on individualized pacing and continuous progress, is generalizable to all elective programs, and offers a workable solution to satisfy the enrollment "numbers game" and to lend breadth and depth to the curricula of…

The TeleLearning and Rural Education Centre was established in January 1997 at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in one of the most sparsely populated and economically depressed areas of Canada. Of 462 schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, 66 percent are rural and over half have enrollments of under 200 students. The Centre was established to…

Based on research and discussions with rural educators in Australia and New Zealand, a new rural teacher preparation program at the University of Victoria (British Columbia) is intended to sensitize students to the professional life of teachers in small rural communities and to acquaint them with the demands of teaching multi-graded classes. The…