This paper provides an overview of research policy considerations and conceptual analyses for the South for three economic development issues: the relationships of Southern agriculture to rural areas and communities; trends and adjustments underway and having an impact on economic development in the region; and the directions economic development…

An effective teaching technique for a university extension course for rural special education teachers is the respond/read/replicate/report system. The four-step system was developed to stimulate tired, beleaguered teachers with differing experiences, knowledgeability, and teaching/learning styles who drove up to 60 miles on country roads to…

A research project was conducted to determine the methods of information delivery preferred by targeted clientele of extension offices in North Carolina, and what methods clients might prefer in the future. Eleven North Carolina Cooperative Extension agents representing all areas of the state cooperated in the study. The agents developed…

In recent years, service programs targeted for Georgia's rural communities have decreased proportionately in relation to those intended for the state's rapidly expanding population centers. At the same time, erosion of traditional manufacturing industries and an adverse agricultural economy have decreased the ability of rural communities to…

The extension role of Tuskegee Institute and the 16 black land grant colleges established by the Morrill Act of 1890 has been to diffuse among the non-university citizens of America useful and practical information on agriculture, home economics, and related areas. Tuskegee's extension efforts began in 1880 and flourished under the leadership of…

During the past 20 years, international and bilateral assistance and funding agencies have become increasingly involved in evaluation activities in adult and nonformal education, especially in developing countries. The adult education field pioneered many approaches now advocated by specialists in program and project evaluation. Beginning in the…

Responses of 127 agricultural specialists concerning their information seeking and interactive contacts within the Missouri Extension Service revealed an interpersonal communicative network among subject matter specialists with a potential for performing the integration (putting together) function on behalf of farmers. This occurred in an…

The paper identifies the basic factors affecting rural development and the social consequences of rural policies and structural changes in agriculture; it also suggests research areas relating some of these factors to what is happening in America's rural communities. Data sources such as congressional hearings, rural sociologists' critiques,…

Discusses the conceptual development of a cooperative multi-state delivery network created in the intermountain states to provide informational and educational resources for rural residents. Open universities, the rural library as a Community Learning and Information Center, and problems of distance and small, scattered populations are noted. (EJS)

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 study was conducted to determine the major roles of county agricultural extension agents in the agricultural technology delivery system in the year 2000 as perceived by state directors of cooperative extension (N=67). Directors, of whom 52 returned usable survey forms, were asked to identify the five major roles that agricultural extension…

Following a nationwide drought in 1982, the Australian government instituted the National Property Management Planning program to build skills in the rural community to better manage the farm business, including the need to manage change. In Victoria, the program is delivered through the Farm$mart project. Farm$mart is: learner centered; involves…

Focusing on contributions of educational resources to the growth of nonfarm enterprises in small towns and sparsely populated areas of the Southeast, this paper discusses four major problems which are at least partly amenable to educational solutions and examines various educational means for overcoming those problems. Research and development…

Although there is a great need for field workers in the process of social change in underdeveloped countries, there are several weaknesses in the field worker system: inadequate supply, narrow range of competence, inadequate quality control, and inflexible learning situations. In order to expand the reach and breadth of such non-formal education…

Two diverse extension audiences in Polk County, North Carolina were surveyed to determine their levels of use of extension information and their preferred means for receiving information. Information was gathered through mailed surveys returned by 48 beef producers and 40 county government workers (about a 67 percent return for each group). Nearly…