Many researchers believe that computers have the ability to help improve the reading skills of students. In an effort to improve the poor reading scores of students on state tests, as well as improve students' overall academic performance, computers and other technologies have been installed in Frozen Bay School classrooms. As the success of these…

The reflective inquiry model of teacher education uses case methods to develop a particular professional way of thinking characteristic of expert teachers. Teaching cases play an important role in preparing teachers emotionally as well as intellectually for the problems of multicultural classrooms, and in legitimizing the discussion of crucial…

This report examines the first year of operation of the 21 Regional Educational Attendance Areas (REAAs) that were established in rural Alaska by the passage of Alaska Senate Bill 35 in 1975. The report is divided into four sections. Section 1 presents background information and an overview of the study and of the events that led up to the passage…

This study is a "teaching case." It is a description of events written to help education students understand the complex, ambiguous situations which arise in rural teaching. The limitations of scientific rules and principles for teacher training are especially obvious in rural Alaska schools--where teachers who are typically Caucasian…

A 3-year study of educational reform in rural Alaska centered around case studies in seven rural communities and school districts serving primarily Eskimo and American Indian students. Each community had embarked on a reform process called Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) that strove to create educational partnerships between schools and their…

This case report describes a rural Alaska high school teacher's efforts to motivate nine Yup'ik Indian seniors to plan for their futures after high school. The case was written as a training tool to help teaching students to: (1) spot issues and frame problems in complex teaching situations; (2) interpret a situation from different perspectives;…

This study is a "teaching case." It is a description of events written to help education students understand the complex, ambiguous situations that arise in rural teaching. The limitations of scientific rules and principles for teacher training are especially obvious in rural Alaska schools--where teachers who are typically Caucasian…

Alaska Natives have a high college dropout rate because of inadequate preparation for the learning and living requirements of college. This dissertation describes research used to develop Prelude, a 2-week advanced program for 11th grade rural Alaska students at Sheldon Jackson College (Alaska) that continues and expands the work begun by the…

This paper discusses issues involved in teaching culturally diverse students and questions current practices in multicultural teacher education. The central portion of the paper describes and discusses an alternative approach to multicultural teacher education through the Teachers for Alaska program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Teachers…

Rural Amrica has been experiencing dramatic changes in the transition toward a socially and culturally diverse society. This study is a first effort to explore multicultural reform in rural schools. Multicultural education is the process by which the school environment is modified to accommodate cultural differences as well as to teach the role…

This case study describes an experienced high school teacher's difficulties in an Alaskan town with severe tensions between Caucasian and Eskimo students and between community members and teachers. This "teaching case" helps preservice teachers understand the complex, ambiguous situations which arise in rural teaching. The limitations of…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examines recent efforts by the people of Quinhagak to integrate Yup'ik language, values, and beliefs into school practices and policies. Quinhagak is a Yup'ik Eskimo community of 550 people on the southwest coast of Alaska. Nearly all residents can…

A University of Alaska staff member, two local teachers, and two community members used on-site visits, observations, questionnaires, and interviews to assess development of the Manokotak school from its inception in 1947 to 1984 as perceived by community members, school staff, and students. Rural and cross-cultural, the Alaskan school served 117…