RURAL ALASKA IS COMPOSED OF VERY SMALL COMMUNITIES, A SITUATION WHICH COMPLICATES DEVELOPMENT OF ADEQUATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IS PROVIDED THROUGH A LARGE NUMBER OF RELATIVELY SMALL VILLAGE SCHOOLS. ALTHOUGH SOME OF THESE SCHOOLS ARE TOO SMALL, MOST PEOPLE AGREE THAT EDUCATING THE YOUNGSTERS IN A BOARDING SCHOOL SITUATION IS…

SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED POOR SCHOOLS, AND MOST EFFORTS TOWARD IMPROVEMENT HAVE BEEN TO ELIMINATE THE SCHOOL BY REORGANIZATION. THE STRUGGLE FOR COMPREHENSIVENESS IS SEEN IN THIS PAPER AS THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM FACING SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS. IMPROVEMENT DEPENDS ON A RETURN TO COMMUNITY SCHOOL EMPHASIS, CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN…

A study was conducted to determine whether the school and work related attitudes of students enrolled in model programs for training disadvantaged differed significantly from those of their counterparts who had no chance to take part in vocational education programs. Another goal of the study was to compare the affective characteristics of…

The association between lower-class vs. middle-class values and self-reported delinquency was the focus of this study of 485 Caucasian male and female high school and college students in rural, middle Tennessee. The typical student's family background was lower-middle class, as determined by his/her father's occupation. The values statements used…

More than 7 out of 10 public high schools of all types in the United States today are located in rural centers of less than 2,500 population. The problems of providing education for all rural youth through the small high schools in these areas are manifold. Significant progress is being made, but there is much ahead that needs to be done. This…

A series of chapter essays delves into the author's experiences as a high school teacher in Vermont's rural "Northeast Kingdom." In essays on such subjects as the Future Farmers of America, sex, courtesy, parents, college, and lovers' quarrels, anecdotal narratives are woven together with reflections on the challenges of teaching,…

A MAJOR PROBLEM OF AMERICAN YOUTH TODAY IS THAT OF QUALIFYING FOR AND HOLDING A JOB. GENERAL EDUCATION IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE GREAT MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO MUST OPERATE FARMS, MACHINES, SHOPS, AND OFFICES AND PROVIDE SERVICES. YOUTH FACE INCREASED JOB COMPETITION BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED SIZE OF THE 14- TO 24-YEAR AGE GROUP. UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUNG…

Data that were collected at various times during the period 1952-1971 were brought together to portray some of the important norms that guided the attitudes and actions of high school and college students in Washington. Family culture and delinquency data collected from 3,242 high school students in 1957, 1958, and 1959 dealt with teenage…

A counselor at a rural high school in New York reflects on her career and addresses issues facing rural school counselors. She chose a career in school counseling based on her interests in education, community involvement, and adolescents. As the only high school counselor for 280 students, she soon realized that rural youth faced many of the same…

This study compares the attitudes of academically gifted rural students with those of their classmates with regard to their communities and their aspirations for a sense of place. Although West Virginia, a largely rural state in Appalachia, is considered by outsiders as a place of deprivation, despair, and backwardness, an aspiration for a sense…

The relationship between gender and the race/geographic area of students and their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score gains after participation in one of two test preparatory programs was studied. Black (n=181) and native-born Appalachian white (n=67) high school juniors were selected on the basis of high scores on the California Achievement…

Questionnaires were administered to 73 sophomore and senior high school students in 3 isolated rural Alaska towns (Adak, Unalaska, and Dillingham) to study the effects of socio-economic factors on rural Alaskan youth's educational aspirations and expectations. Because of a military-supported economy, Adak was a typical middle class American…

Results of surveys (in 1967, 1973, and 1978-1979) of nonmetropolitan Mexican American high school sophomores from South Texas indicated that, although broad similarities existed between males and females, there were also specific patterned gender differences in social behavior and orientations. In status projection levels, particularly educational…

As part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture research project on young adults, a questionnaire was distributed in the fall of 1977 to all agriculture science and home economics students at the University of Puerto Rico in order to determine their personal and parental backgrounds; work, college, and high school experiences; life goals and attitudes…

This doctoral study examined the literacy practices of two rural adolescents as they crossed between the social contexts of their rural community, Winnona Hill, and higher education. Data collected primarily through semi-structured e-mail interviews over a 4-year period indicated that both informants used multiple literacies and a range of…