Pennsylvania Intermediate Unit 8 (IU8) seeks to scale innovations that are evolving as local solutions to educational challenges in rural school districts. Consistent with its mission of creating customized solutions, IU8 seeks to make the innovations better, meaning more learner centered and community focused. IU8 is evolving the Getting Better…

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…

Can increasing student perception and engagement though alternative teaching methods, such as introducing math in an everyday context improve student test scores? Literature on this subject suggests improving student engagement and introduction of math in everyday applications can improve student comprehension. This study looks at a second grade…

This study was intended to explore the environmental literacy among the secondary level students of Bangladesh. Specifically, it was designed to: i) determine environmental knowledge of the secondary students, ii) explore their environmental attitude, iii) find out their environment related practices, and iv) explore school's environment-friendly…

This exploratory study examined the impact of location (rural vs. non-rural) and individual characteristics such as age, gender, and risk factors on baccalaureate attainment of vertical transfer students. Descriptive findings indicate that overall few students (12%) who began in a two-year institution transferred to a four-year institution.…

The XX IDEA annual conference has been focused and reflected on different ways and means of meeting various kinds of methodological challenges, new technologies and multi-media developments, newly emerging partnerships and collaboration between emerging sectors on one hand and between the institutions functioning with similar objectives and…

The introduction of inter-school electronic networks has added a new dimension to education in Canada that has many implications for students who attend schools in rural communities. Collaborative internet-based teaching and learning and the creation of virtual classes within regional intranets now complement traditional on-site instruction in…

Today, society has a greater understanding of what constitutes children at risk. Unlike years past, educators within society can no longer take the luxury of ignoring students facing emotional and social challenges. Instead, they must respond quickly and positively to the needs of students faced with many of these challenges by developing…

(Purpose) This report summarizes a synthesis of the literature related to the evidence, initiatives and approaches to rural/northern medical education, particularly its role in strengthening the medical workforce in rural areas. (Methodology) A literature review was conducted involving the literature databases MEDLINE (January 1990-March 2003),…

Attracting and retaining staff in rural and remote schools has been a perennial problem n Australia virtually since federation in 1901. In this report the author uses a mixed method approach of an on-line survey, unstructured interviews and policy analysis to develop a comprehensive overview of approaches to overcome these staffing problems…

The papers contained in this document represent the keynote addresses, refereed and non-refereed conference papers from the 21st National Conference of the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA). The theme for this national annual conference was: Our Stories: Innovation and Excellence in Rural Education. Keynote…