The purpose of this paper is to present an exploration on the response of parents of two rural multigrade schools facing the homeschooling activities in the context of pandemics. To frame a comparative perspective some conceptual work was done about new rurality and family structure before interviewing parents of both schools about distribution of…

This paper uses Franco Berardi's "Futurability" to provide a critical examination of rural education, the manner in which it can limit radical imagination, as well as how it can be shaped to create new possibilities for the future. Using Berardi's theory as a critical lens, the author looks at existing research into rural education,…

Rural communities across the United States are experiencing a rapid increase in the number of immigrant students. While the number of culturally and linguistically diverse students continues to grow within Midwestern states, the demographics of teachers remain white, female, and monolingual. Often teachers have little to no training working with…

This article challenges researchers and practitioners to reconsider the utility of insider/outsider constructs of the rural school superintendency. We draw on case studies of two diverse rural Rust Belt communities and the school superintendents to demonstrate the new demands placed on rural superintendents given changing social and economic…

Queensland rural and remote schools have difficulty in attracting experienced, in-field mathematics teachers. Thus, when such teachers arrive, much is expected of them to increase the mathematics knowledge of students. This paper looks at one such teacher who, against the high expectations placed upon him as an in-field teacher, experienced…

Rural community schools and their educational mission have always provided a sort of connectivity for the rural community. This research takes a closer look at the closing of a small rural community school located in a southern Appalachian region and determines its effects upon the teachers, students, and community culture. Although these students…

This paper reports partial outcomes from a three-year project that provided professional learning opportunities in mathematics for middle school teachers in rural schools in Tasmania. The educational environment for the study was one of significant system transition. Student change is reported here and was measured with survey instruments…

Few actions are more important to a school board than the selection of a new superintendent. A rural district can use the search process to unify constituents and clarify its mission. This paper presents a 17-item checklist that outlines the steps in the selection process. The checklist is currently undergoing pilot study in Nevada to determine…

Gifted and talented children have cognitive and affective characteristics that set them apart from their more typical classmates. These characteristics may be particularly problematic in rural areas where stability, traditional values, small schools, and self-sufficiency can be at once a barrier and a support. This paper discusses the…

This document summarizes the proceedings of the Third ACCLAIM Research Symposium, which took place over three days from May 18 through May 20, 2006. The Center's doctoral students took prominent roles, especially the entire second cohort of doctoral students. Three members of the first cohort also participated in events. Overall, the symposium…

This paper describes the Hawaii Interactive Television System (HITS) program and provides an evaluation of the first year of broadcasts for the advanced placement (AP) calculus course. HITS allows two-way video-audio interaction among origination sites, but the configuration used by the Department of Education for its Teleschool program is the…

Perceived educational strengths and weaknesses of Appalachian schools are examined as indicators of school effectiveness in this study, which is based on the formula that the expectations people have of schools minus the perceptions of how those expectations are met equals a dissonance factor. The School Effectiveness Inventory (SEI), which…

Because rural colleges are small, isolated, relatively tax poor, and are staffed primarily by public school trained and experienced personnel, their staffs usually possess values, attitudes, and beliefs that are directly contrary to the philosophy of the community college. This address calls for the beginning of effective staff development…

This paper briefly reviews the literature on violence in rural schools and communities, as well as the causes of rural crime and violence. General demographic and economic characteristics of rural communities are listed, followed by facts on rural school enrollments, achievement, and funding. Recent changes in rural communities that might…

This paper describes a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) located at the Central Arizona College. Schools are responsible for assisting economic development in the small business and business community since industry spends $22 billion per year in retraining high school graduates and dropouts in basic education. In Pinal County, Arizona,…