This article reports on a qualitative evaluation of the Science in Schools program; a suite of science based activities delivered by staff of a regional university campus and designed to provide professional development for science teachers working in non-metropolitan schools in a socioeconomically disadvantaged region of Australia. The research…

Formal and informal partnerships between rural schools and their communities can provide a wide range of supports for all students, but particularly those from low-income families. In this analysis of six small rural school districts in Virginia we show how the broad participation of community groups and individuals supports academic achievement…

Though the poverty encountered by many rural youth encompasses numerous developmental challenges and substantially increases the chances for educational problems, the school context is central to promoting and constraining their development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of school characteristics and…

This work introduces a model of university outreach in rural communities which promotes increasing post-secondary options for rural dwelling African American youth. KEMET (Knowledge and Excellence in Mathematics, Equilibrium, and Technology) Academy is a comprehensive academic enrichment program targeting African American students enrolled in…

Imagine a K-8 school in a remote corner of southern Appalachia with a student body that once qualified for 100 percent coverage of free and reduced school meals. Imagine a school budget far below the state and national averages and a well-worn building that has been in use for a half-century. This is the reality of Grassy Fork School in Cocke…

More research into illicit substance abuse in rural African-American communities is needed. The existing literature indicates that patterns of use for licit substances (alcohol and cigarettes) are either similar for rural Blacks and Whites or lower for Blacks. However, the negative health and social consequences of smoking and abusive drinking are…

The study explored the importance of parent-child rapport as it pertained to the child's career development in the context of rural Ontonagon County, Michigan. Questionnaires were self-administered to 201 high school seniors (100 boys and 101 girls) in the spring of 1974. Information was gathered on a wide range of topics dealing with the…

Describing dominant patterns of social mobility and analyzing factors determining educational and occupational attainment in farm and nonfarm sectors, this article investigates whether farm background is a handicap to status attainment in nonfarm sectors and examines the determinants of occupational status of farmers' sons in the nonfarm sector.…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was designed to measure knowledge, skills, and attitudes of young Americans at various ages in 10 learning areas, and to measure educational attainment over time. Community categories used in NAEP research were High and Low Metro, Urban Fringe, Main Big City, Medium City, Small Places…

The deterioration of industries in rural America in the 1980s has placed rural youth in a difficult situation. Those who remain in rural areas face a scarcity of good jobs, while those who leave face competition for employment against better-educated metropolitan youth. A study was conducted to: (1) examine the educational experiences of both…

This study reports on levels of achievement among rural black and white Southerners of relatively low socioeconomic status. The 262 persons who were the objects of the study were reared in Millfield, North Carolina. They were first studied by Baughman and Dahlstrom (1968) in the early 1960s when they were in the eighth grade. Ten years later, this…

The dramatic changes in Bulgaria's agriculture, labor structure, and demography caused by the establishment of socialism in the country in the mid-1940s have resulted in changing mechanisms of youth socialization. Industrialization and agricultural consolidation precipitated a rural-urban migration boom and a resulting higher education level,…

This research report focuses on the educational, migrational, and occupational characteristics of the rural-born people from various class origins in a highland minifundia community near Bogota, Colombia. Three main objectives are to describe the nature of growth and adjustment in the labor force under conditions of rapid population growth and…

Study objectives were to assess actual changes in normative traditionalism which had occurred in a sample of rural Pennsylvania areas and to determine the extent to which the changes in traditionalism were associated with the rurality of these areas. Utilizing a combination of socioeconomic data (census derived) and longitudinal data obtained via…

This special theme issue reports key results from a comprehensive assessment of skill development among the rural workforce and of rural education and job training in rural areas. This comprehensive assessment had three goals: to develop better measures of rural skills than were previously available, to identify human capital initiatives that…