In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

What works to help rural students succeed in higher education? In fall 2020, MDRC partnered with Rural Matters and Ascendium Education Group to produce a four-part podcast series called "Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities." The series gathered experts from across the country to examine the realities of rural life and…

This article describes how students in rural parts of West Virginia spend up to four hours a day riding buses to far-flung schools, built as part of the state's consolidation drive. As a result, rural communities in West Virginia have fought back by filing lawsuits, electing their allies to school boards, and defeating pro-consolidation bond…

Traces the history of the one-room school in West Virginia from the 1750s to the 1970s. Describes teachers, buildings, curriculum, pupil and teacher rules of conduct, size advantages/disadvantages, length of school year, salaries, changes in school district size, evolution of transportation networks, and current status. (NEC)

Discusses consolidation as a method to reduce the costs of rural education. Describes the interrelatedness of the rural economy and rural education. Enumerates advantages and disadvantages of small schools. Suggests that educational reform should focus on the unique circumstances of rural schools. (KS)

Summarizes and critiques West Virginia educational reforms during the past decade, highlighting the state's rural character, a brief history of the reform catalyst (Pauley v. Bailey), recent reform activity, and some cautiously optimistic predictions. The state's 1982 Master Plan for education has been replaced by Policy 2000, whose six goals…

Discusses efforts over the past 25 years to formalize the role of West Virginia's community colleges in the context of the state's rural character and low college graduation rates. Describes a reorganization following a 1987 study by the Carnegie Foundation and state legislation designed to fine tune the colleges' mission. (10 citations) (AJL)

The rural economy has performed badly during the 1980s. While the recession of the early 1980s was responsible for much of the trouble, the slow rural recovery demonstrates the fundamental hurdles facing the rural economy. Central among these are economic disadvantages, including remote locations isolating rural producers from their markets, low…

This article defines historical and contemporary rural schools, outlines three sociological and political economy perspectives essential for understanding why school consolidation and rural school reform are abiding themes in rural America, and examines the political and economic context of a vigorous new school consolidation program in West…

This paper describes education reform as an integrated effort to modify not only the structure and elements of the education system but also the culture or belief structure of that system. Central to any discussion of school reform are the elements of restructuring, empowerment, and change. Current reform efforts in restructuring revolve around a…

The philosophical debate about making high fliers out of low academic achievers in places considered educationally and culturally deprived like rural Appalachia warms the hearts of those who see education as the road to economic well-being for the nation. However, education reform rhetoric must be saleable to rural residents who distrust outsiders…

This report addresses the need to assess teacher attitudes toward teaching culturally diverse youth in West Virginia. West Virginia ranks as the second most rural state in the nation, with a 64 percent rural population. Nevertheless, West Virginia's culture is becoming increasingly pluralistic, and many students are finding that they cannot…

In 1982 the "Recht decision," in Pauley v. Bailey, found school financing in West Virginia to be inequitable and prescribed quality standards for every aspect of public education. This report examines teachers' responses to resulting school reform efforts. In-depth interviews were conducted with over 200 selected teachers and…

Teachers in rural West Virginia who had completed a Foxfire training course reported that they involved students to a greater extent in the design and participation of learning activities, especially in the use of discussions, peer teaching, and planning units of instruction. Teachers also reported incorporation of the community in the learning…

West Virginia is recognized as the second most sparsely populated state in the nation. Legislation that intended to upgrade the quality of education in the state was passed in 1988. Some educational leaders argued that statewide reform must consider the uniqueness of sparse, rural school districts in the state, taking into account issues such as…