Certification records of 435 Idaho science teachers analyzed by school district size revealed significant differences: more physiology, earth science, and chemistry I teachers in largest districts had endorsements to teach assigned subjects; more earth science and chemistry I teachers in smallest districts had neither major nor minor in subjects…

This paper presents the rationale for the development of an elementary teacher training program designed to prepare students to teach in rural areas. The Province of British Columbia (Canada) is a vast geographic region populated by only two and a quarter million people. Most reside in rural communities ranging in population from a few hundred to…

Provides an overview of some of the problems faced by teachers in rural and small schools and advances the need for inservice and preservice programs to teach special competencies necessary for teachers in rural communities. (SB)

A teacher staff of 21 was employed for 6 to 8 weeks during the summers of 1967, 1968, and 1969 at Virgin Valley, Nevada, with funding provided by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title III). The purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility of summer employment for teachers by the school system. Project design called for 3…

There is an evolving paradigm shift in the field of rural education away from emulating urban schools and toward a pedagogy of place. This shift is influenced by the following trends: 1) the rediscovery of the unique features of rural and small schools as strengths to be nurtured, not problems to be solved; 2) the recognition that centralized,…

This proceedings record contains 87 presentations, including 65 complete or edited transcripts and 22 abstracts. Eighteen papers address the conference theme of creative collaboration, describing cooperative agreements between universities and school districts to provide enhanced high school curricula, college preparation courses, and…

The curricular and extracurricular responsibilities of teaching in a small school district require uniquely prepared teachers. Rural teachers often need additional background in instructional methods for teaching reading, content areas other than their specialty, discipline techniques, use of community resources, and individualized diagnosis and…

A 1985 mail survey of 97 rural schools and 53 coastal (urban/suburban) schools in Queensland, Australia, investigated teacher characteristics, problems, and needs. Respondents included 504 rural teachers, 215 rural parents, 405 coastal teachers, and 179 coastal parents. The results confirm many previous findings about teaching in rural Australia.…

To identify promising practices, issues, and problems concerning education for the gifted in Maine, 239 classroom teachers and 14 administrators from 11 school districts geographically distributed throughout the state responded to questionnaires which profiled teacher personal characteristics and styles, described the educational setting and…

During 1976-77, 42% of U.S. schools operated with fewer than 600 pupils and 27% operated with fewer than 300 pupils; Iowa had 181 K-12 public school systems with fewer than 300 pupils in 1977-78. All of Iowa's smaller school systems were located in the more sparsely populated rural areas of the state, had higher than average per pupil assessed…

Describes 10 award-winning programs at rural and small schools, involving teacher induction and collegiality; improving student writing through word processing; integrating Indian Studies into the curriculum; developing self-esteem through peer teaching; student entrepreneurship; substance abuse prevention; training rural special education…

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 calls for each state to develop and implement a comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD) to train special education personnel. Support for training activities has depended heavily on federal funds. However, in 1988, the basis for allocation of federal funds to such training…

This proceedings contains the conference program, a list of presenters, and profiles of keynote speakers. Program descriptions are provided for the 10 1989 Exemplary Rural and Small Schools Program award winners chosen by the National Rural and Small Schools Consortium, and for the 7 1989 Exemplary Rural Special Education Program award winners…

This training guide provides guidelines and sample strategies for using the 1989 publication, "The Multigrade Resource Handbook," in a variety of professional settings ranging from teacher training programs to school and district inservice. This guide has been developed primarily for preservice teacher educators working with prospective…

Materials from the I.D. Weeks Library of the University of South Dakota, relating to country schools and the history of rural education in South Dakota and written between 1874 and 1976, are listed in this annotated bibliography. Publications of the South Dakota Department of Public Instruction include: school laws, some dating back to 1877;…