Youth living in remote rural communities face significant geographic barriers to college access. Even those living near to a postsecondary institution may not have the means for, or may not see the value of, pursuing a college degree within their local economy. This study uses 18 years of national county-level data to ask how local economic shocks…

Education is closely linked with economic outcomes. This report highlights key trends in educational attainment among rural Americans and the relationship between educational attainment and economic prosperity for rural people and places. Rural Americans are increasingly educated, but gains in educational attainment vary across demographic groups.…

Using Nepal Living Standard Survey (NLSS 2003/04), this paper attempts to explore find the differences in education between men and women in urban and rural Nepal. Result shows that the urban populations have higher education compared to rural. Average years of schooling in urban Nepal were more than two times for both men and women; the gap in…

This paper explores some of the political and methodological challenges involved in researching rural education. It begins by outlining the situation in Australia regarding the relationship between social justice and rural education. It first describes the disadvantages experienced by many rural communities and presents an analysis of rural…

Dropping out of high school seriously impacts an individual's job opportunities, income potential and employment stability. To minimize those risks, individuals can earn a General Educational Development (GED) credential. Researchers have studied the impact of obtaining a GED on candidates' lives and found that the credential affects their…

Questions "supply-push" theory of rural development, which suggests that upgrading workers' skills will guarantee rural development. Data from past two decades show tendency of decreasing growth in job skills and in requirement for quantifiable job skills (e.g., level of education). Upgrading job skills by itself seems unlikely to pay…

The lack of consensus among researchers in defining the focal construct of rurality has led to contradictory conclusions of whether or not a rural-urban performance gap exists in higher education. Compounding this problem are the changing definitions of rural and urban, even among governmental agencies. Thus, this study used two different…

This booklet profiles key economic and social features of rural Arkansas. Data are drawn from reports by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Arkansas state agencies. About half of Arkansas' people live in rural areas, and most of these live in open country (not incorporated areas) and are completely dependent on county…

This study about rural school and student characteristics uses recent investigations to focus on the needs of rural schools and students. The first two sections of the report describe rural populations and communities, paying particular attention to changes since 1970 and to regional differences in growth rate, economic base, and racial/ethnic…

Compares the adult adjustment of a random sample of 399 high school graduates and dropouts with disabilities from rural Iowa school districts with that of 541 urban counterparts. Classifies subjects according to disability and analyzes information on their employment, fringe benefits, living arrangements, and postsecondary education one and three…

Graphs, data tables, maps, and written descriptions give a statistical overview of rural Pennsylvania. A section on rural demographics covers population changes, racial and ethnic makeup, age cohorts, and families and income. Pennsylvania's rural population, the nation's largest, has increased more than its urban population since 1950, with the…

This study tests the hypothesis that the local labor market structure, particularly the proportions of high- and low-paying occupations, affects human capital investment. Most studies have assumed that the direction of causation flows from the supply of human capital to employment growth. However, the creation of low-skilled jobs merely reshuffles…

Several studies raise serious doubts about whether economic development should be a goal for rural education and whether a causal relationship exists between education level and income. This study sought to determine the nature of the relationship between level of schooling and income level. Census data from 1940 to the present for 13 rural states…

Rural families in the 1990s have less to support their children and schools than a decade earlier: rural poverty (particularly among children), single-parent families, and maternal employment have increased whereas education and incomes of young adults have decreased. Although education has increased in importance for jobs, rural schools systems…

Examines trends in urban and rural China, 1949-90, for elementary- and secondary-school enrollments, number of teachers, and educational attainment of males and females. Demonstrates that shifts in the political context of educational policy between a socialist egalitarian agenda and a liberal competitive model have carried real consequences for…