Reviews economic and social science theories on the role of the school in economic development. Presents a case study of an underdeveloped rural Tennessee county where school improvement efforts were unsuccessful because of the sociological, political, economic, and cultural setting in which the school system operates. (KS)

Reviews key literature on rural education, 1974-98. Describes characteristics of rural schools and communities. Discusses the results of 100 years of efforts to urbanize and homogenize rural schools, and the question of whose interests should be served by rural schools. Examines ideas about the nature of appropriate rural school improvement, and…

Argues that the "social capital" provided to schools by parent and community involvement has been eroded in rural areas by school consolidation, centralization, and urban models, placing all rural students at risk. Traces this erosion in one rural West Virginia school district. Contains 19 references. (SV)

Braxton County, West Virginia, is a subculture in which the norms and values of local residents are oppositional to state and national objectives for public education. Describes the role of the locally born county superintendent as a cultural change agent, and his strategies for overcoming poor community support and limited financial resources to…

This paper addresses dilemmas facing rural schooling today as a result of industrialization and the changing nature of rural communities. Examples are drawn from the literature on Maine and West Virginia schools and from the movie "Hoosiers." Although some rural communities have benefitted economically from industrialization, in most…