In Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) on the Navajo Reservation, 92 percent of students come from homes where Navajo is the primary language, but many students entering school are not fluent in either English or Navajo. A survey of 23 educators examined the effects of language and culture on the likelihood that a student would be placed in…

The University of Kentucky has been providing graduate-level distance learning programs in moderate and severe disabilities and early childhood special education since 1989 through the Training Rural Educators in Kentucky (TREK) Projects. To document the effectiveness of the program, a follow-up survey was conducted in 1998 with an emphasis on the…

Addresses differences between rural and urban communities in terms of family characteristics, home life, cultural values, social norms, and economic structures. Implications for rural special education include understanding the diversity of rural communities, developing relationship-based services, and considering ecocultural factors when…

A rural New Mexico project identifies gifted Hispanic and Native American children in the visual arts. Committees of parents, teachers, artists, and administrators use identification procedures sensitive to cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences and community ethnic identity. Program elements include culturally relevant differentiated…

A successful Indiana distance education program that provides special education courses to rural teachers uses technologies available in target communities, collaborates with host schools on practicum experiences, focuses on inclusive settings, uses team teaching to increase student engagement, and uses teacher-participants as on-site coordinators…

Strategies are presented for systematic planning and teacher collaboration for inclusion of students with disabilities in rural general education classrooms. This planning and ongoing support is essential for the student to be a full member of the class rather than just physically present. A case study illustrates the positive effects of such a…

Teachers, administrators, and counselors throughout South Carolina were randomly surveyed to evaluate attitudes toward inclusion. One hundred administrators, 125 counselors, and 342 teachers responded. Philosophically, over half of counselors and teachers believed that students with special needs have a basic right to be taught in the general…

This report presents 11 tables providing data on the number of Kansas special education personnel employed in the 1990-91 academic year who did not return for the 1991-92 academic year. Table 1 presents the personnel attrition rates for each year from 1976-77 through 1990-91. Table 2 presents personnel attrition data for 1990-91 organized by…

This paper examines how creative thinking techniques can be used to help rural educators provide effective transition programs and services to secondary students. Factors affecting transition in rural areas include a small, homogenous economic base; travel time and distance between job sites; lack of services and trained staff; the community role…

This paper describes programs for high risk students in the St. James R-1 (rural) School District in Missouri. The participants, staff, procedures, and effectiveness are briefly discussed for each program. Programs at the elementary level include: (1) an intervention program for K-2 students identified through screening; (2) a prescription…

This book provides a conceptual and practical framework for understanding lifelong education in the context of the multifaceted rural community. The goal of the discussion is to develop educational programs involving new combinations of services and new organizational arrangements so that individuals will become resourceful, autonomous, and…

Economically disadvantaged and ethnically diverse children are underrepresented in programs for the academically gifted. SPRING (Special Populations Rural Information Network for the Gifted) is a consortium of Indiana University, New Mexico State University, and Converse College (South Carolina) whose major concern is the identification and…

Increasingly, schools are turning to paraprofessionals to supplement the administrative and instructional functions of teachers. Because of their roots in the community, paraprofessionals are a special human resource for rural and small school districts, while permitting such districts to address the needs created by educational reforms, federal…

The Georgia Centers for Community Education hosted the multi-state rural and small school conference because of the many educational hardships encountered in many rural and small southern schools. Speakers representing the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Valdosta State College, the University of Missouri, the…

This paper discusses the concepts of Human Resources Development (HRD), andragogy (adult learning), and transfer of training as factors to be considered when designing training for special education teachers in rural schools. A critical question facing HRD professionals who design and deliver inservice training for special education teachers in…