Rural and urban family literacy programs share similar challenges in helping families work through obstacles to participation, such as transportation and childcare. However, the scope and nature of these challenges and the program management strategies to deal with them differ in rural and urban settings. Some of the most creative solutions to…

Tests relationship between local resource production and social systems in two natural resource industry communities: one timber-dependent, the other mining-dependent. Data collected for 13 resource-production indicators and 15 social-change indicators. Confirms hypothesis that social change is associated with the production level of local…

Discusses the impediments to rural information services for community development in Nigeria, including skepticism towards information, poor roads, nonchalance of government officials, and rivalries. Highlights the nature and characteristics of a community and community information needs and services; identifies four components of community…

The purpose of this study was to understand more about the impact of living in a rural area on personal learning with older adults. This is important to consider because of the higher concentration of older adults in rural areas. This qualitative research was based on twenty interviews with older adults. All of the participants lived in the same…

This brief report describes data available from the Census Bureau for counties, cities, and county subdivisions (such as townships) in the United States. The principal focus is on small communities. Statistical information published only for metropolitan areas or large cities is not discussed in this document. The document describes the census and…

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…

Community characteristics must be identified and analyzed before relevant library planning can occur. Although census data indicate that the Kent County resident is not the type of person usually thought of as the typical library user, there is a record of active community participation in the county which indicates a strong potential for…

The public welfare agency is a major influence in rural community life. It is the service delivery mechanism for medical care, cash aid, food stamps, and many other kinds of life-or-death assistance. It is significant in local economies and its employees are influential in communities where well-educated people are scarce. (JHZ)

Data from 12 rural community problem-solving groups working with extension agents were studied to explore the relationship between group and individual growth and (1) agent self-actualization and (2) certain group trait variables. Individual and group growth was found to be highly related to small group size, high ratings of problem importance,…

Economic explanations do not fully account for the vitality of the Gifford (Illinois) business district. Case study demonstrates how a cohesive, persistent German American community generates and maintains a sense of place for Main Street, and examines the vital social role that Main Street plays in the maintenance of community. (TD)

The traditional conception of rural as homogeneously agricultural has become archaic. This paper reviews definitions of rural diversity related to rural special education and proposes a broad definition based upon culture of community and region. In the late 1970s, the National Rural Project identified "problems" in rural special…

Engelhard is a very isolated rural community in Hyde County, North Carolina, economically dependent on seafood, small scale agriculture, and logging. In the mid-1980s the agricultural crisis, the decline in seafood landings, and changes in timber industry technology contributed to rising unemployment. Several decades of declining population and…

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…

Economic trends in the 1960's in the Iowa rural renewal area, Appanoose and Monroe counties, show that the level of economic activity increased in the area but was clearly below the level for the state. Economic trends suggest that to provide economic opportunities in the area, by 1980, comparable to those available on the average to all residents…