Rural graduate students in early intervention used case-study and ethnographic methods to record family-focused field experiences, thereby developing an understanding of family perspectives and personal theories about early intervention in rural settings. These personnel preparation processes help students engage in a lifelong process of…

A survey of 121 rural teachers in British Columbia examined their knowledge about and attitudes toward the inclusion of special needs students. In addition, the study examined rural teachers' knowledge of and ability to access resources in the school district and their individual schools. The survey questionnaire consisted of 114 questions related…

The West Virginia University Special Education Transition Project trains school guidance and rehabilitation counselors to support disabled students during school-to-work transition. Specifically, project goals are to develop, refine, and implement programs that provide school and rehabilitation counselors with transition and special education…

Two statewide Montana projects address educational needs assessed through a biennial Comprehensive System of Personnel Development survey. Although addressing different needs, the projects use similar strategies for effective implementation in a large rural state. Montana Training for Inclusive Education is a program of inservice training,…

Nebraska public schools have experienced a substantial growth in the numbers of children being served by special education programs, particularly in the past 10 years. This increase in services has greatly impacted state budget allotments for special education. For example in 1994, $115 million was appropriated to Nebraska school districts for…

During the spring of 1993, a needs assessment was conducted in rural Kansas communities to determine existing services and community strengths available to special needs children. Interviews were conducted with a cross section of the community regarding community resources, collaboration, parent and family involvement, planning processes, and…

This report describes a program developed by West Virginia University to address the increased demand for doctoral level special education personnel in higher education, particularly for colleges and universities in rural areas. Data indicate that the available pool of qualified teacher educators in special education has not been sufficient to…

This paper describes the North Dakota Statewide Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Facility Staff Training Program. For the past 10 years, the training program, in association with Minot State University, has been available to agencies and their employees who provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities in rural…

This proceedings contains approximately 92 presentations focusing on rural education and rural special education. Topics include: meeting the needs of handicapped and disabled students in rural areas; education and inservice training of special education teachers; teacher cooperation models; higher education of at-risk students; rural teacher…

The goal of a 2-year vision teacher training project is to provide the coursework instruction and student teaching opportunities necessary for Oregon certification as teacher of the visually impaired. The program was designed in response to several conditions affecting services for visually impaired students living in seven eastern Oregon…

Provision of needed services to handicapped preschoolers in rural areas presents major challenges, primarily because of the lack of trained personnel. Federally-funded Project Hi Tech trained teaching staff of two preschools, one of them located almost 200 and the other over 300 miles from Utah State University, by using two-way audio-video…

To meet the need for trained teachers for rural special education, especially for teaching the severely/profoundly handicapped, the Severe/Profound Handicaps Training Program was established by West Virginia University. The program consists of 20 hours of coursework and 9 hours of practicum experience, leading to a Master's degree and/or teaching…

The six tape album contains 11 presentations given at the Conference on Education's Responsibility for Disruptive, Alienated, and Incarcerated Youth. Tapes provide the following material: an overview of the conference, including comments from participants and chairpersons; "The Contemporary Situation--Its Assessment" (R. Sarri); "From the Inside,"…

THE RURAL TO URBAN MIGRATION SEEMS TO BE PARTICULARLY ATTRACTIVE TO TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE--(1) BRIGHT YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN, AND (2) POORLY TRAINED YOUTH SEEKING BETTER LABOR MARKETS. IF THIS "BRAIN DRAIN" AND MIGRATION FLOW IS TO BE STEMMED, IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE AN IMPROVED RURAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. WHILE SEVERAL NEEDS HAVE BEEN…

The goals of a rural and small schools conference held in December, 1980 in Austin, Texas are to link the region's educators who are concerned with rural and small schools at both state and local levels with current research and resources and to identify needs of rural and small schools in the region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico,…