There are few studies that investigate rural music educators' lived experiences in relation to "place," particularly from an Ontario, Canada context. Yet in small rural schools, the music program is often seen as the catalyst for interaction and bonding with community as music educators strive to build and foster student involvement and…

Faced with urban schools' reluctance to host student teachers on practicum because "student teachers disturb their teaching order," Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, collaborated with four rural provinces to develop a University-Government-School (UGS) initiative for rural practicum placements. To understand the teachers'…

In this article, we report perceived professional development (PD) needs, interests, and challenges of ESL instructors in rural Alberta from the perspectives of instructors and administrators. We collected questionnaire responses from instructors who taught in programs offered in five rural locations with a large recent influx of newcomers…

Despite the existing research on rural education, rural teaching, and pre-service rural practicum placements, there is little research on the experiences of beginning teachers in rural schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Saskatchewan beginning teachers who obtain employment in rural or northern schools. Eight…

Australia and Canada are large countries with small populations relative to their size, in which a not inconsiderable number of citizens live beyond major centres of population. In both resource-based economies, the provision of quality education in rural schools is an important part of the national social and economic infrastructure. This article…

Recent provincial educational policy in British Columbia (Canada) supports inclusion of special needs children in the regular classroom and a philosophy of individualized education for every child. These policies have considerable impact on teachers in isolated rural schools. A survey of 32 teachers and 100 student teachers in rural elementary…

To assess the need for elementary school counselors, 75 superintendents of school districts thoughout the province as well as 200 elementary school parents, 80 teachers, 4 principals, and 200 students from a small, rural school district in the British Columbia interior were surveyed using self-report questionnaires. The assessment provided…

Survey of 121 regular education teachers in rural British Columbia about inclusion of special education students in their classrooms revealed the need to provide additional resources to assist teachers, particularly the addition of trained assistants, parents, and community volunteers. Suggests that teacher education focus on how teachers can use…

Questionnaires mailed to a sample of teachers, students, and parents in Western Australia and Northwestern Ontario (Canada) were used to study the effects of isolation on rural education. Although the geographical distance may permeate all aspects of isolation, three discrete types of isolation emerged from the responses--social, cultural, and…

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…

This study originated as a result of public concern about standards of behavior. The purposes of the study were to ascertain what school discipline was in fact like and what it should be like, and to provide information to practitioners. An extensive review of the literature was conducted. Nine groups--principals, vice-principals, teachers,…

A study investigated the effects of sex and grade in school on students' reading proficiency, students' beliefs about their reading, parents' beliefs about the students' reading, and teacher's beliefs about the students' reading. The study also examined causal relationships between student, parent, and teacher beliefs and students' reading…

The perceptions of cooperative education held by the students, teachers, and employers participating in cooperative education programs in Ohio and Ontario, Canada, were examined through six parallel case studies conducted in one urban, suburban, and rural school in each country. Data were gathered through site visits to each school, participant…

Developed as a text for studying rural education in Canada, this book focuses on the importance of listening to the voices of all stakeholders in education, formulating a shared vision for schooling, and providing leadership that will revitalize schools in sparsely populated areas. Section 1 presents strategic planning as the most promising…

In 1985, the Department of Education in Alberta (Canada) adopted policy that allows remote or rural high schools to use distance education as a method for increasing curriculum offerings and avoiding the need for school consolidation. In 1987, the Alberta Department of Education implemented the Distance Learning in Small Schools Project to address…