This article reports the findings of a study commissioned by the Montana Small Schools Alliance to explore the challenges and sustainability practices of frontier schools. A Montana frontier school is defined as a school district with 200 or fewer students with its attendant community located in a county with five or fewer people per square mile.…

This paper documents the development of a new website (www.rrrtec.net.au) specifically designed to better equip teacher educators to prepare graduates to teach in rural and regional communities. The two year study (2009-2011) that informed the website's creation included three data sources: A literature review of research into rural teacher…

The state of Texas has an "essential knowledge" component in some high school science courses indicating that students be able to describe connections between academic science content and future jobs or training through effective exposure to course content. The participants in this study were from a small rural high school in central…

Responding to the lack of clarity related to the defined role of the school counselor, the authors investigated school principals (n = 538), in a rural Midwest state, and their perceptions of the role of the school counselor. The survey utilized was developed based on professional standards of service delivery for professional school counselors as…

Many rural school districts face declining enrollments. A few districts have taken the unusual path of recruiting international students in order to boost their enrollments. This study examines a community using this strategy and the resulting financial, academic, and social situations for the school, community, and students, both local and…

Administrators in America's rural school districts are uniquely challenged to meet increased achievement expectations despite decreasing resources. Mandated reform initiatives, population decline, and the complex formulas used to distribute tax-based funding have disproportionately affected rural schools. In this mixed-methods study, researchers…

In this study, 206 teachers, 35 school board presidents, and 37 superintendents/principals (n = 278) were surveyed regarding their views of effective leadership behaviors demonstrated by school leaders with dual role responsibilities through serving as both a school principal and as a superintendent in small rural school districts. Data were…

This study analyzed teachers' beliefs and attitudes affecting job satisfaction in one small, rural Florida school district. This mixed methods study included a self-administered survey of Likert-type items measuring 20 factors for job satisfaction and individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Several issues related to dissatisfaction…

This study examines the relationship between four independent variables (gender, age, reservation background, and cultural traditionalism) with three dependent variables (assessment of college, transition to college, and impact of college on an appreciation of Native heritage) among a sample of American Indian students attending a small, rural…

Surveyed rural-elementary school teachers in British Columbia to ascertain their perceptions of school-community relations and how this concept could/should be taught and/or strengthened in university preservice programs. (AH)

Describes results of a 1981 survey of 162 small rural schools in Montana. Notes that teachers cited educational finance as the main rural education problem and that Montana's rural teachers receive few incentives. Reports results pertaining to preparing teachers for rural settings, curriculum development, school-community relationships, and…

Reports on superintendent selection practices by school boards of small school districts in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Ranks importance of 15 applicant skills and 14 applicant characteristics involving educational experience or personal qualities. Suggests how small districts can attract quality candidates. (SV)

Compares 1986 and 1991 surveys of discipline trends and practices among rural teachers in southwestern Ohio. Major changes include increased perceptions that the school board or superintendent determines discipline plans and decreased endorsements of corporal punishment. (LP)

A survey of 133 rural Midwestern teachers who had supervised student teachers examined their knowledge of educational psychology. Few teachers had high scores, and scores were unrelated to teaching experience or degree held. Recommends increased emphasis on educational psychology in teacher education, inservice, and professional development…

Elementary and middle school teachers surveyed in rural South Dakota indicated that a combination of phonics, skills, and holistic instruction occurred most often in their reading programs. This suggests that most school districts take an eclectic approach to reading instruction and use the best components from various approaches. (LP)