This paper presents a framework for assessing the economic and social costs of drug abuse in rural areas. The first section considers definitions for three key sets of concepts: (1) what is rural, the great diversity within rural contexts, and how to distinguish rural from urban; (2) the nature of social costs, as they affect communities as well…

Critiques Colin Ward's "The Child in the Country," which illuminates the personal geographies of children in rural Britain, as structured from without and experienced from within; augments sociocultural geography concerns about the importance of space and place in "other" people's lives; and provides new possibilities for rural…

Describes research methods used and problems encountered in fieldwork with rural English youth. Discusses the researcher's positionality and self, making local connections and finding "gatekeepers," building trust with young people, issues of youth safety versus confidentiality, types of communication and parental consent, the…

With the ultimate goal of articulating a research agenda, a November 1999 conference of researchers and educators examined the educational, social, and economic factors affecting rural adolescents' transition to the workforce. The first section of this white paper discusses the need to clarify research questions about adolescence to include a…

An investigation of effects of community change on children's lives explored the proposition that, in both rural and urban Kentucky since the Second World War, children have lost shared multigenerational activities, freedom to roam, and open unstructured time. Data included oral histories from residents born 1895-1950, archival research, and…

For many years, farmworkers in Zimbabwe have been a marginalized and neglected community. This book describes the lives of hired farmworkers' children in their own words. Over 850 children aged 10-17 were interviewed or wrote essays in English or Shona. Nearly all the children were in elementary school in grades 4-7. Many farm children undergo…

Written in 1939, this book outlines fundamental Catholic principles and policies that address problems associated with the agricultural system and rural living during the early 20th century. The manifesto was derived from Catholic social philosophy and espouses the benefits of an occupation in agriculture, including the development of private…

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 report draws on research, statistics, and the voices of rural young people to document the extent and causes of rural child poverty, and related problems and reasons for hope in specific focus areas. About 2.5 million rural children are chronically poor. Rural poverty is concentrated in central Appalachia, the deep South, the U.S.-Mexican…

Rural work-education councils are free-standing voluntary associations of community leaders averaging around 21 to 25 voting members who are organized by task-specific action committees working to improve and expand educational and economic development options and thus ease the education-to-work transition in rural America. There are currently…