Rural America is undergoing rapid and confusing change which impacts on the role of rural health educators and practitioners. Although rural life has been romanticized, rural areas have emergencies and accidents remote from professional assistance, occupational diseases, high infant and maternal mortality rates, and the same high incidence of…

An effective teaching technique for a university extension course for rural special education teachers is the respond/read/replicate/report system. The four-step system was developed to stimulate tired, beleaguered teachers with differing experiences, knowledgeability, and teaching/learning styles who drove up to 60 miles on country roads to…

For effective crisis intervention, the rural social worker must consider various factors specific to the rural community, e.g., knowledge of rural helping networks and core rural values, structure of kinds of crises likely encountered, and successful methods of intervention. (JHZ)

After discussing theories of attitude change, recommends that mental health workers overcome the negative attitudes of rural communities toward mental health programs by forming positive, personal, affective bonds with rural community members. Presents strategies for establishing and maintaining these bonds in private life, clinical work, and…

Summarizes the nature of service delivery systems in non-metropolitan communities and identifies four community/delivery system types: small city, small town, rural community, and reservation community. Identifies areas warranting further study, e.g., the reservation community, the informal functioning of helping systems, and the coordination of…

Studies of the amount of money spent by rural counties on General Assistance Programs identified three factors that contributed to the level of county support: the size of the population, local history of response to human needs, and the role of local public welfare and social service administrators. (JHZ)

Describes Alaska village culture and gives five examples of ways that ignorance about the culture can interfere with a teacher's effectiveness in the community. Suggests a coping strategy of "skillful inaction" by which the newcomer can prepare for accomplishment by settling into the village and learning by listening and watching. (JHZ)

Although rural children with mild or moderate handicaps have been integrated into the regular classroom, children with severe or low-incidence handicaps continue to be underserved by rural schools. Traditional service delivery models are inadequate in rural areas where many levels of the traditional service continuum and adequate staff and funding…

Identifies psychotherapeutic and professional skills and personal characteristics important for private practice of marriage/family therapy in rural areas. Discusses implications for professional training. Describes private practice in geographically isolated Wyoming community, citing importance of skills in adjunct professional activities, i.e.,…

Describes rural/urban differences encountered by practicum students/recent graduates working in early childhood special education. Identifies differences in four areas: prevalence and identification of handicapping and risk conditions, type of educational placement, relevance of community dynamics, and relevance of family attitudes. Suggests…

Those who are poor and reside in the rural pockets of poverty are at a cumulative disadvantage in United States society. Low educational levels, poor health, lack of competitive job skills, and a mindset restricted by poverty give little hope for mobility--especially in communities devoid of opportunity and supportive services. (JHZ)

Social workers in rural midwestern areas such as Iowa must consider distinctive characteristics of the poor in those areas to help clients within the framework of family and community. Characteristics of rural poor include presence of father in family, residence in small towns with a single industry, presence of high numbers of female elderly,…

Written to shed light on the unique recruitment and retention problems faced by rural and small school districts, this booklet also presents strategies to address these problems. Among problems noted in the opening overview are that recruiting and retaining good teachers in rural and small schools is complicated by inadequate pay which does not…

Discusses common themes in five papers on rural community psychology: myth that rural life is naturally supportive, importance of community needs in designing prevention programs, risks of labeling diseases, rural psychologists as developers/advocates, using advice/direct suggestion, thinking in systems/ecological terms, role/boundary conflicts,…

Suggests that rural cummunity psychology focus on preventive interventions instead of traditional service delivery. Discusses special nature of intervention in rural communities, types of preventive interventions, understanding/utilizing community social ecology, and training issues. Advocates greater preparation for rural psychology and greater…