This report presents five commonly held stereotypes about children in the United States and analyzes their validity through discussion of data related to each. These stereotypes include: (1) births to unmarried women have increased tremendously mostly because of women of color; (2) child poverty is a problem in the inner city, not in the suburbs…

In their role as change agents, rural development personnel often modify the environment in which they are operating when they introduce different technology, institutional modifications, etc. Because these actions can change the relationship between the rural population and its habitat and may encourage out-migration or in-migration, rural…

This report focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of North Carolina, its future and potential, and the roles that the citizens and the state government play in moving the state forward. There are multiple realities within North Carolina. The average income has increased, unemployment rates have dropped, and educational levels have risen. The…

Prejudice built up against the rural citizen and his situation is exemplified in the stereotyping inherent in the pejorative terms "pastoral", "bucolic", "hick", etc., and romantic turn-of-the-century debate over whether "modern degeneracy" should be considered urban- or rural-centered. Such holdover…

This paper examines trends that are currently reshaping rural America and rural education. It reviews the debate about how best to improve rural school districts, suggesting that what is needed is a better understanding of the changing context in which this country's public school enterprise is taking place. The paper begins by reviewing the work…

A variety of ecological, economic, and social changes are now reshaping rural America. The deterioration of the economic structures and perceived quality of social life in large metropolitan centers of the United States has stimulated the dispersal of population and economic resources throughout rural America. During the last decade almost three…