Rural school and community renewal efforts may depend upon a reconceptualization of our democratic institutions and practices. During at least the last 130 years, we have come to judge our democratic institutions on the basis of whether they deliver the goods rather than develop our people. In the name of progress, efficiency, higher standards of…

Half of New York State's 50 school-to-work (STW) programs are in rural areas. Following background on the development of New York's STW initiative, this paper describes four programs that are overcoming rural barriers to building an STW system. The GLOW Partnership addressed a primary concern of business partners: over-saturation of the limited…

This report describes how the University of Alaska Fairbanks provides library and information services to students in rural Alaska. The Elmer E. Rasmuson Library in Fairbanks created the Extended Campus Services unit for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, researchers, nondegree students, and specific patron groups who needed…

This paper reviews selected research studies of multigrade classrooms in Canada, Finland, eight developing nations (India, Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia), and the United States. Based on information about the perceptions of multigrade instruction of principals and teachers, the following issues are…

Reviewing the history of rural education reform, this paper argues for a policy of improving rural schools on their strengths, rather than a policy of consolidation. Since the late 1970's, rural school reform has placed greater emphasis on developing policies and educational strategies that allow rural schools to be different from urban schools…

A look at Australia's educational history gives insight into a proposal for a domestic communications satellite for use as an educational tool. The country's earliest and most successful distance education programs used itinerant teachers and "tent schools." In 1922, a national correspondence education program was adopted. Correspondence…

Recent provincial educational policy in British Columbia (Canada) supports inclusion of special needs children in the regular classroom and a philosophy of individualized education for every child. These policies have considerable impact on teachers in isolated rural schools. A survey of 32 teachers and 100 student teachers in rural elementary…

Teacher education faculty have recently recognized the need for interdisciplinary preservice training that incorporates collaborative approaches, but such training is usually unworkable within the traditional university department structure. Research supports the contention that a team makes more accurate decisions than do individuals acting…

Teachers, psychologists, medical personnel, and parents need to work together with a common base of knowledge to provide appropriate services to children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). The history of ADD symptoms begins in the late 19th century but the term ADD was not coined until 1980. Since that time, definitions and terms have…

This paper links areas of research with implications for community prevention strategies aimed at high-risk children. Collaborative efforts to reduce the number of at-risk children in rural communities can be advanced by merging knowledge from the following areas: (1) the causal pathways leading to substance abuse and identification of risk…

The two papers are based on the same data of a Delphi survey conducted in 1986 and 1987 to education professionals in 13 Western states. In the first round of the survey, 798 individuals interested in rural adult education were asked to identify barriers to rural adults' education and to propose actions and policies to overcome these barriers. In…

Recent work by both neoclassical and political economists suggests the scope of the influence of economic structures on rural socioeconomic conditions and rural education. In particular, dual labor-market analyses look beneath the surface of the macroeconomy--the national economy--to the underlying reality of regional or sectoral economic…

In 1977, the government of the Sudan launched the Integrated Rural Development Project with the aim of ruralizing and vocationalizing primary school education. Integrated Rural Education Centres (IRECs) were the first attempt by the government to introduce vocational subjects as part of general education at the primary school level. Unfortunately,…

Oral history plays a vital role in accurate preservation of the rural school experience and the actual restoration of some of the country's 212,000 one-room school buildings. Oral histories provide valuable, first-hand information on who taught in and who attended one-room schools, what the curriculum included, what the building looked like, and…

In response to the increasing need of rural public schools for teachers who can function in more than one teaching area, Arkansas College initiated a program for students to become certified in both special education and elementary education. Through this dual, 4-year program, the employment prospects of students are increased, the needs of area…