A review of research yields nine conclusions concerning mathematics achievement among rural and urban students. Among them are that currently a national rural vs. non-rural mathematics achievement gap does not exist; at the state level, a rural vs. non-rural achievement gap exists in 40 percent of the states, and that gap is evenly split between…

Economic liberalization and the rise of global competition have increased the importance of agricultural, technical, and business skills for small farmers in Brazil. However, many rural farmers are unable to attend agricultural technical schools due to low educational attainment. The first section of this paper discusses the impact that…

Discusses contextual factors (geography, community idiosyncrasies, personal relationships, formal resource scarcity, community resource accessibility, external force influence, visibility, "Jack-of-All-Trades") affecting practices of rural child welfare workers. Points out similarities/differences in child welfare work in urban and rural…

Discusses basic differences between programs for special education students in urban areas and in rural areas and identifies critical needs for delivery of services to special education students in rural and remote areas as: teacher recruitment and development; services to exceptional students; legislation and funding; and parent and community…

Recommends implementing specialized preparation for rural preschool teachers to function effectively as distance educators. Addresses differences between urban and rural environments affecting education; the important role of parents as educators in distance education; and the need for distance education preschool teachers to reconceptualize their…

Examines school-funding equity litigation concerning rural schools, effects of political power on rural funding, rural and urban competition for funding, unique funding problems of rural schools, the growing threat to equity posed by sales-tax funding schemes, and future funding-litigation strategies for rural schools. Tables list relevant federal…

Current efforts to address the severe and worsening shortage of rural physicians include attracting and preparing rural students for medical school, enhancing medical school curricula, and placing and retaining rural physicians. Recommendations include creating incentives for successful rural training programs, encouraging innovation in rural…

This article uses survey data to describe some common elements among rural vocational rehabilitation programs and differentiate them from their urban counterparts. The survey of 173 Goodwill Industries centers brought 78 responses. Thirteen centers (17%) characterized themselves as entirely rural; 22 (28%) as nonrural, and 43 organizations said…

As part of the new Victorian Certificate of Education, the state of Victoria, Australia, implemented changes to secondary mathematics courses in order to cater to the needs and aspirations of all students by using a variety of teaching and assessment strategies. The first year that the changes were fully implemented for grade 12 was 1992. A…

This paper examines the tenure of teachers in the South Western, North Western, and Sunshine Coast regions of Australia. These regions provide contrasts of isolation, climate, and apparent attractiveness. Research indicates that rapid teacher turnover in rural areas is a significant concern. Data collected since 1975 suggest that the average days…

Economic, social, and health indicators show that as many as one-quarter of rural children face problems usually attributed only to inner cities. Rural children are poorer than other American children and are less likely to have access to health insurance, health services, child care, government aid, or adequate housing. This book provides…

Research on school effectiveness points to administrative leadership as one of the critical factors in creating effective schools. There is perhaps no educational setting in which this relationship is stronger than the small rural school district. In 1988 a national survey of school administrators conducted by the State University of New York at…

This ERIC digest synthesizes research characterizing the economic climate in which rural schools operate and reports on the traditional strategies used to create greater economic support for rural school districts. The benefits of steady urban economic growth have not been shared, generally, by rural areas; this has led to inadequate financial…

Information available on rural education remains startlingly inadequate--partly because of the great diversity of rural areas, because agencies responsible for data collection disagree on the definition of small/rural schools, and because large metropolitan schools have received far more than their share of attention, research, and financial…

Despite developmental efforts and a relatively larger population growth rate in nonmetro areas since 1970, rural/nonmetro people are still behind their metro counterparts in terms of wage levels, family income, adequacy of housing, and access to essential public services like education and health care. Rural public school education lags behind…