The topic of networking the learning community with home-school links is addressed in four papers: "Internet Access via School: Expectations of Students and Parents" (Roy Crotty); "The School Library as Community Information Gateway" (Megan Perry); "Rural Access to the Internet" (Ken Eustace); and "NetDay '96:…

There was a notable transition in the nature, content, and administration of rural policies in many developed nations in the 1980s and 1990s. These changes concerned issues of governance and institutional framework, the definition of "development," and policy goals and content. A key question, however, concerns the extent to which shifts…

Medical students that come from rural areas are more likely to return to rural areas to practice, but rural students apply for medical school at half the rate of urban students. Factors that contribute to this problem are the lack of rural representation on medical school selection committees; centralization of medical education facilities in…

Until the 1960s the rule of science was a characteristic of modernity in academic life. Since then, a postmodern trend has been running counter to a faith in a universal and objective scientific methodology. Postmodernists have taught us that there are no single truths, that there are many valuable perspectives, and that the line between the…

The University of Oulu (Finland) has a 10-year experience in distance education. Located in Northern Finland, Oulu is a center for small distant villages and towns in Lapland. The Department of Educational Sciences and Teacher Education at the University of Oulu is a leading institution in the field of distance learning. Students complete their…

Distance learning can be a useful approach for preparing teachers who are mid-career changers or who are working on limited licenses, especially in rural areas. At Indiana University, the Collaborative Teacher Education Program uses multiple distance education technologies to provide special education teacher preparation in mild (high-incidence)…

Research indicates that adolescents with disabilities need high-quality transitional programs to make the transition to work and independent living, and that barriers inherent in rural areas and schools make service delivery for transition extremely difficult. Current employment patterns suggest that small rural businesses and rural entrepreneurs…

Charles Sturt University (Riverina, Australia) has initiated the Certificate in Distance Teaching course for rural teachers working in a distance education setting to extend their understandings about rural and distance education topics. Two semester-long subjects constitute the course: pedagogy of distance teaching and organization of distance…

Ag-Ed is an agricultural education project aimed at upper primary students, held in conjunction with the Toowoomba Show (similar to a county fair) in Queensland, Australia. The program achieves its purpose of helping children understand the impact and relevance that agriculture has on their everyday lives through two components, an Ag-Ed day and a…

This speech is about respect for small things and suggests that schooling could benefit from the care and attention enabled by a smaller scale. Among the points made are that, yes, all children can learn, but that is no big deal. Schooling should contribute to their education, but schooling is far from being identical with education. Learning…

Outlines 10 reasons why rural education does not receive appropriate levels of federal and state funding. Discusses strategies to remedy the problem, including creating a cohesive rural vision and organizing a rural constituency. (SV)

Discusses four issues in rural education in remote areas of Australia: (1) the education of girls; (2) the education of aborigines; (3) education for lifelong learning; and (4) the need to compile current research on rural education in Australia and plan further research accordingly. (KS)

Of poor academic skills, perhaps the most prevalent among at-risk students is the lack of ability to compose--to develop ideas in print. Providing opportunities to learn that skill opens a whole new world for young people who believe they are incapable of learning. This paper describes writing instruction that was provided over a 4-year period in…

Distance education is becoming a major delivery mechanism for teacher education programs in special education, especially for rural areas. Whatever the delivery system, telecourses depend on the mutual efforts of an instructor and a producer to satisfy the demands of both academic content and production values. Both instructor and producer have…

The Allegany County School System and the Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) have collaborated to develop a satellite program that brings MSD educational services to hard-of-hearing and deaf elementary students in rural western Maryland. In the past 5 years, the number of hearing-impaired preschoolers in Allegany and Garrett Counties increased…