The Village College is a uniquely English institution, yet it may be a viable model for rural education in some parts of the United States as well. If so, four adaptations seem paramount: attitudinal restructuring, institutionalization of adult and community education, a demography capable of supporting the effort, and a new model of educational…

The design of a needs assessment model to establish the existing status and requirements of general and special education in eight small rural South Dakota districts interested in forming an education cooperative involved: (1) synthesizing major areas of need into workable components; (2) designing a needs assessment instrument based upon these…

Collaborative strategies were used by The College of Saint Rose (CSR) and 15 rural school districts in upstate New York to implement preservice teacher training and programming to better meet the needs of handicapped learners in rural settings. Through meetings and questionnaires, rural administrative teams identified relevant skills and issues…

The Teachers Abroad Program (TAP) was developed as a project of the Mennonite Central Committee to meet the educational needs of developing nations. Its activities in Bolivia involve North American volunteer teachers committed to starting a school in a rural community in 2 years and, following this period, assisting the community in obtaining a…

The consulting teacher program involving the use of special classes and resource rooms, which serves mildly to moderately handicapped students in Griggs, Steele, and Traill Counties in North Dakota, a rural school district, is described. Outlined is the service design model consisting of 11 steps: referral, observation, initial parent contact,…

The paper highlights four successful instructional/programing strategies for secondary level handicapped students in rural Wyoming. The Vocational Education/Special Education Project (VESEP) I provides a vocational/special education curriculum which encourages cooperative teaching between vocational and special education staff while addressing…

Rural school districts must cope with problems of finance, energy, teacher recruitment, and curriculum. The Pawnee Heights School District (Kansas) has dealt with all of these. Concerning finance, Pawnee Heights has taken advantage of several federal programs including CETA, Title I, Career Education, and Title III; it has filed an application for…

Increased migration to rural communities by urbanites has focused greater attention on the role of the rural community college as the focal point of community activity and the major source of significant leadership and direction in community development efforts. Through its community service programs, the community college can contribute to…

The traditional method of conducting evaluation studies of agricultural extension programs is not sufficient when evaluating the impact on rural development, and must, therefore, be complemented by qualitative studies and careful evaluations of program objectives based on farmer needs. Traditional experimental evaluation studies do not register…

The 20 Regional Education Service Centers in Texas were established in 1967 at the request of the State Board of Education. Governance is vested in locally elected boards of directors in the participating school districts, and each center is managed by an executive director. Operated by state appropriations, special projects and programs, and…

The percentages of adults needing adult basic education (ABE) programs in rural areas may not differ from those found in metropolitan areas, but the delivery of the system may be different. For example, the rural ABE teaching staff probably will be recruited from the ranks of the regular elementary or high school teachers to teach at night also,…

This paper reviews the research on mathematics teacher education and mathematics education reform to provide a possible foundation for educating mathematics teachers in rural Appalachia. The paper takes the position that teacher change has certain characteristics and impediments that are not limited to any particular circumstance. Research on…

Over 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas, and most of these people are illiterate and undernourished. This paper calls for the international donor community and developing nations to combine for an all-out assault on rural poverty, and presents a proposal for education for sustainable rural development. Education for rural…

This paper discusses techniques and strategies to improve the effectiveness of distance education delivered via interactive video telecommunication. Advantages and disadvantages of three types of interactive video--telephone linkage, end-to-end fiber optic digital transmission, and satellite broadcasts--are briefly discussed. Prebroadcast…

Although formal vocational training in technical high schools or community-based job placements provides opportunities for adolescents with disabilities, educators need to consider a broader continuum of vocational training options for these students. Entrepreneurial options such as school-based businesses, internships, and apprenticeships may…