Data from a 1986 modified Delphi survey of adult education professionals in a 13-state region is used to determine what public policies were regarded as important and feasible for providing adequate opportunities for rural adults. The document focuses on 89 proposed policies to determine differences in perceptions among three subregions (Mountain,…

A discussion is provided of the ways in which audio teleconferencing can provide instruction to students in rural areas using the regular telephone network. After introductory material describes the benefits of audio teleconferencing (e.g., its low costs, familiar technology, and wide availability), a technical description of its operation is…

This keynote speech discusses the rise of telecommunicated distance education in the United States. Interactive satellite broadcasts for K-12 instruction are now received by more than 1,000 schools in more than 40 states. Similarly, many states are working with two-way interactive television projects, slow-scan television systems, and…

The rural economy has performed badly during the 1980s. While the recession of the early 1980s was responsible for much of the trouble, the slow rural recovery demonstrates the fundamental hurdles facing the rural economy. Central among these are economic disadvantages, including remote locations isolating rural producers from their markets, low…

This book contains a series of essays based on public lectures delivered by six agricultural economists during the 1986-1987 academic year at Western Michigan University. Some of the main issues and problems addressed in the essays are the role of technical change in agricultural development, the value of learning from historical and comparative…

The exploratory investigation was guided by four research questions: (1) what are the similarities and differences in the readiness status between rural and urban first graders; (2) what is the relationship between the readiness status and socioeconomic status of rural and urban first graders; (3) what are the similarities and differences in the…

Because it incorporates many of the best practices of inservice education, the use of computer/video linkage for inservice education programs in small rural schools holds great promise for improving both the method of delivery and the content of professional development activities. Studies of staff in small rural schools consistently find…

A study sought to identify and verify the characteristics of rural settings and teachers that, in the literature, are related to success in rural teaching of students with handicapping conditions and to compare college faculty expectations and attitudes with those of local education administrators and master teachers. A survey was conducted by…

Presenting proceedings from the Tenth International Conference on Education in Sparsely Populated Areas ("Interskola 77"), this conference report includes a list of participants and their addresses and the following speeches: (1) "The Council of Europe"; (2) "East Anglia: An Introduction"; (3) "Perceptions of Teachers' In-Service Education Needs…

The TELSTAR project serves preschool handicapped children in all categories of disabilities in a three-county rural area of Northeastern Michigan. Services are home-based from ages 0 to 3, with the children placed in appropriate group programs at approximately age 3. The assessment and evaluation of child progress is done using a standardized…

Attitudes expressed in Iowa's news media recently show a change of attitude from an urban or metropolitan slant to a more pro-rural, pro-agrarian point of view. Iowa's major daily news medium is now saying that the state's character, culture, economy, values, beliefs, and social attitudes are in jeopardy, and Iowans should have the moral and…

Results of interviews conducted among a sample of long-term rural residents and back-to-the-land immigrants in a small community in a rural county in Kentucky are compared for values held and attitudes toward the public school system. The present situation is analyzed in light of the controversy over cultural pluralism and subsequent actions taken…

Teacher centers that are run by teachers and staffed by competent professionals can help administrators recognize and value professioanl behavior in teachers. They can play a major role in developing and delivering inservice education if they place major emphasis on attending to teachers' individual needs for professioanl growth through bottom-up…

This book is a compilation of papers prepared for a 1975 conference on the delivery of special education services. Because conference participants were from states where problems of distance and low population density complicate the delivery of special education programs, a multifaceted approach was used to address these two critical problems. The…

Project TELEPAC utilized the telephone to provide access to professional skills by parents of handicapped children located throughout Utah and the loan of self instructional packages designed to teach self help and academic skills. Parents called the center on a toll free number and reported satisfaction with the project. Staff members used the…