This study explored the impact of an active project-based, aquaculture constructivist-learning program, as perceived by high school students. The purpose of this case study was to discover if participation in the program influenced students' interest, engagement, and future educational and career aspirations in science, technology, engineering,…

One-hundred-thirty-one southeastern Kentucky public school teachers were surveyed with respect to their preferred mode of professional development. An ANOVA was conducted to determine if there was a difference in teacher perceptions among content related variables. That ANOVA showed no significant difference among the means for new instructional…

One of the most important issues facing education policymakers is how to prepare students to be productive citizens in an increasingly competitive global economy. While state accountability systems suggest that the proportion of students meeting state benchmarks is rising, performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has…

This qualitative comparative case study identified factors that distinguish between high and low-performance on reading achievement in elementary rural Appalachian schools. This study determined the most effective instructional reading strategies, as well as other influential factors, implemented by school districts in the rural Appalachia area…

This study identified common characteristics in six "good" secondary schools in the rural Appalachian regions of Kentucky and Tennessee. Three schools from each state were selected for study based on nominations by Chief State School Officers and local superintendents and ratings based on statistical information about the schools. Two…

Perceived educational strengths and weaknesses of Appalachian schools are examined as indicators of school effectiveness in this study, which is based on the formula that the expectations people have of schools minus the perceptions of how those expectations are met equals a dissonance factor. The School Effectiveness Inventory (SEI), which…

Use of the School Climate and Context Inventory (SCCI) as a measure of school climate was investigated. The SCCI had previously been used as a measure of climate in a study of six rural high schools in Kentucky and Tennessee; in the current study, the SCCI was administered to 20 faculty members from each school. Split-half correlation and…

School councils, a school-based decision making (SBDM) form of governance, are mandated for Kentucky public schools by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Commonly composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents, the school council is designed to be a form of democratic or shared school governance. The missions of school councils…

In a demonstration of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL's) Community Partnership for School Improvement model, Hart County (Kentucky) community members and school representatives planned and implemented a school improvement project to increase parents' involvement in their children's education. In May 1988, 203 out of 625 questionnaires…

This paper examines how inclusion services are delivered in Kentucky rural regular schools. Survey responses were received from special educators in 261 rural regular schools throughout Kentucky. Vocational schools, treatment centers, alternative schools, and other special schools were not included in the survey. Results indicate that…

This article describes work on a new tool to help educators increase parental involvement in their schools using the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). When the authors set out on their goal in rural Hart County, Kentucky, they discovered that no instrument existed to measure changes in the level of parental involvement. Using…

To generate information that would help rural schools take advantage of the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program, 47 principals of rural schools in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia were interviewed via telephone. The schools fell into two categories: schools that applied but were not funded through the CSRD…

This paper compares the responses of rural educators from northeastern Kentucky to those of a national sample of respondents completing Phi Delta Kappa's survey, "How Teenagers Respond." This survey aimed to determine what common values adults believe adolescents possess. Thirty-five administrators and teachers from middle schools and…