Rural youth are now graduating from high school at rates comparable to their peers in urban and suburban schools, however far fewer rural youth pursue postsecondary education. Using a comparative case study method, we explore postsecondary preparation efforts at three rural school districts. Each case represents a different classification of…

This case study of faculty culture focused on the dynamics of a small, rural, two-year branch campus of a large state university. It reports descriptive themes concerning the isolation and rural location of the campus, its diminutive size, faculty role perspectives, and factors related to faculty role implementation. It provides a portrait of this…

This paper focuses on how teachers in a rural elementary school, involved in the fourth year of a restructuring process (the Accelerated Schools Project), used inquiry to transform teaching and learning. In the past, teachers generally worked within their own classrooms and had little input in school wide operations. However, after four years of…

To fulfill its obligations to rural constituents, higher education should develop teacher training programs that (1) prepare teachers as generalists to accept broad teaching responsibilities; (2) help teachers understand the close school/community bonds in rural areas; and (3) prepare teachers to develop self-sufficiency in rural settings. (PB)

Student teachers relate their teaching experiences in small rural schools in Queensland (Australia), including recognizing the importance of the school to its community, the resources that rural schools use in providing a quality education, the role of the teacher in a rural setting, and the close relationship between rural teachers and their…

Teachers at a rural elementary school slated for consolidation, worked with teacher education students during a full-day teaching experience that resulted in both classroom teachers and university students expanding their understanding of the teaching culture. The benefits of this experience included easing teacher transition to a new school…

Thirty-nine rural school districts in Pennsylvania responded to a survey designed to study new teacher induction programs. The total sample population of 392 included mentor/support teachers, inductees, and induction coordinators. Based on the survey data and information from 29 districts' documents, this report gives detailed descriptions of…

The Windham (Vermont) Partnership, a professional development school, cooperates with a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program that educates foreign language and English as a Second Language teachers. Within the Partnership, there are two seminars for mentors: the Reflective Teaching Seminar and the Teacher Research Seminar. Teachers are…

This paper describes an inclusion program at the Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), located on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. KUSD is a rural school district with approximately 2,800 students enrolled in 4 schools (primary, intermediate, middle, and high schools). Virtually all students are Navajo, with 88 percent of students…

Addressing the problems of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers for small and rural schools, this digest outlines improvements that could be made by teacher education programs, state education agencies, school superintendents, and teachers themselves. Suggested guidelines for teacher education programs stress nontraditional approaches that…

An innovative project in training teachers for community development was begun in three remote villages in Sri Lanka in 1975 by one of the country's 28 teacher colleges. Under supervision by a resident Teacher Educator, teacher trainees were placed in villages for two weeks per term not only to teach the two courses per day required by all of the…

A model of service delivery to rural handicapped children trains classroom teachers onsite to be "Cooperative Extension Service Agents" within their schools. University faculty bring graduate coursework to the school site and "Agent" teachers provide special education inservice assistance to fellow teachers, facilitating local…

This paper examines how the Melrose-Mindoro School District, a rural school district in Wisconsin, implemented curriculum reform. Current national reform agendas focus on the organization of student learning experiences, the roles teachers assume in schools, and the organization and management of schools. Equally important in implementing change…

Considers qualities required of rural teachers in the USSR and implications for teacher education. Reports survey results of 430 rural teachers in the Tatar region concerning what a rural teacher must know and problems specific to rural teaching. Concludes that rural teachers must coordinate teaching with social work and face housing and material…

Written in 1912, this book addresses the role of teachers in improving rural farm life. Rural-to-urban migration had resulted in the loss of leadership from rural localities and the decline of agriculture, and country life had lost its prestige both socially and economically. This book suggests that the country school is the key to achieving…