Rural, Southern Indiana schools continue to experience staffing shortages affected by the decreasing enrollment trend of students to teacher preparatory programs and increase in teacher attrition, and mobility. The problem is increased teacher attrition, turnover, and mobility within rural schools in Southern Indiana, and is essential because…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

Career Technical Education (CTE) teacher recruitment is a challenge that has dogged state CTE leaders for decades. According to a recent survey of State CTE Directors, 98 percent said that increasing access to industry experts is a high priority in their state. And 20.4 percent of rural districts with CTE teacher vacancies report that CTE…

Are there teachable "transferable skills" (TS) that might mitigate the limitations of a rural location--or indeed, the limitations any program might encounter in regard to diversity expectations? Following a study conducted in 2010 of how rural schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) attempted to meet the National Council…

How do people use education to respond to change? How do people learn what is expected of "good citizens" in their communities? These questions have long concerned educational historians, civic educators, and social scientists. In recent years, they have captured national attention through high-profile education reform proposals and…

Understanding human activity in real-world situations often involves complicated data collection, analysis, and presentation methods. This article discusses how Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) can inform design-based research practices that focus on understanding activity in real-world situations. I provide a sample data set with…

This article discusses one high school's program of competitive academic team sports, as well as the Indiana state system of local and regional competitions. Organization of teams, team goals, types of students involved, the role of the coach, and outside help from teachers in different fields are discussed. (PB)

Thirty-six Indiana directors of special education indicate that heavy caseloads and limited special education service delivery options are the most critical problems of rural school psychologists. The article discusses procedures which may be utilized to circumvent or overcome these problems. (NEC)

Reports on a study of 50 urban and 50 rural Indiana districts covering school district characteristics, liability actions against either the school district or professional personnel, liability insurance coverage, employment of legal counsel and fees paid, and opinions of respondents regarding the potential impact of educational malpractice…

Described is a hierarchical model delivery system for educational services to children with learning disabilities which provides three types of interrelated centers: university based centralized centers in highly populated areas offering complete services (Type I), satellite centers in communities which focus on the dissemination of new techniques…

In a survey of 169 rural school psychologists, the major barrier to effective educational assessment was perceived to be inadequate special education program options. Other perceived barriers were inadequate adaptive behavior measures, inadequate time for evaluations, and bias shown toward a child based on knowledge of other family members. (JHZ)

In 1923 John D. Rockefeller's General Education Board (GED) undertook a project to reform the public schools in two rural Indiana counties. The GED demonstration project developed from more than two decades of concern about America's rural problems. The attempt by cosmopolitan outside experts to change the rural schools is described. (RM)

Profiles the Switzerland County high, middle, and elementary schools in rural Indiana. Discusses the district's library media program and collections; the High Tech School grant award; the role of the Internet; librarian teacher partnerships; affiliation with the public library; and the sense of community throughout the district. (AEF)

During the 1998-1999 school year faculty from Indiana University's School of Education (Bloomington) began in in-service teacher education program, Teacher Institute for Curriculum Knowledge about Integration of Technology (TICKIT). TICKIT was designed to foster the thoughtful infusion of educational technology into the K-12 curricula of teachers…

This "special focus" journal issue consists of 13 individual articles on the theme of rural family programs relating to school, health services, church, and other institutions. It includes: (1) "Towards a Rural Family Policy" (Judith K. Chynoweth and Michael D. Campbell); (2) "Montana: Council for Families Collaborates for…