Notes that India has experienced conditions that have lead to significant illiteracy, but that commitment to education can be found in lesser-known parts of India today. Profiles three schools in Tamil Nadu and describes a typical school day for a student with special needs, a student in a tribal setting, and a student in a rural setting. (TJQ)

Surveys, interviews, and classroom observation revealed no difference in instructional flexibility between Australian rural and suburban secondary teachers. Despite smaller class sizes, rural teachers followed a dais-based model of information delivery. Adherence to an assessment-driven work program precluded attention to differences in student…

A survey of 200 rural middle and high school teachers in 4 midwestern states revealed that frequency of written assignments was low across all subject areas; that collective pieces (paragraphs, essays/editorials, reaction papers) were used most often; that, except for English teachers, few teachers employed journal writing; and that student…

A study assessed the effectiveness of direct instruction in improving reading skills. After a 3-week summer remedial program in which direct instruction was the main instructional strategy, along with a controlled curriculum, 18 rural students aged 7-15 with severe reading difficulties showed notable improvement in reading and spelling. (Contains…

Changing demography and ensuing incidents of backlash, growing intolerance, and prejudice led a group of educators from seven different schools in two rural counties of northwestern Washington State to organize a National Endowment for the Humanities sponsored series of Holocaust education inservice workshops. The obstacles they overcame in…

This article discusses the creation of a teacher as researcher learning environment in one small rural Idaho elementary school through the Internet. At the request of five elementary school teachers from the same rural school district, the researcher, a university professor, created an online course, "Teacher as Researcher," which provided…

Across the country, states are pushing to close their small rural schools with the mistaken hope of saving money, in spite of overwhelming evidence that smaller schools are beneficial for students, and that they frequently function as the glue that binds together small communities, serving as their economic and social hub. The battle is even more…

This document summarizes the deliberations of the Commonwealth Pacific Regional Workshop, which focused on the cost effectiveness of small schools. Advantages of small schools include equity for disadvantaged groups, opportunities for rural development, preservation of cultural traditions, and the potential for educational advantages. One task…

A review of the innovative and comprehensive educational programs in Alaska, funded under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is featured in this document. A brief sketch of the State of Alaska provides a basis of understanding of the rural education problems encountered in this large state. Each program instituted is discussed…

A school-college partnership in central Virginia is attempting to meet the complex challenges presented by diversity, standards, and accountability by offering inservice and preservice teachers unique, reform-based professional development opportunities for building expertise in mentoring and differentiating curriculum and instruction. The first…

This study comprises the report of the United States Commissioner of Education upon the schools of Brunswick, Georgia, and of Glynn County, in which Brunswick is located, made upon the request of the board of education of Glynn County. In response to the request of the board of education, the commission in its study of the schools gave most…

Reports a study of eight teachers identified as empowered or having become more empowered, focusing on influences on and the developmental process of teacher empowerment. Journal entries, interviews, and observations as teachers conducted reading and language arts instruction demonstrated that gaining empowerment was a spiraling process. (SM)

The use of "recitation" lessons in a rural Nebraska one-room school was investigated. Conservative in its orientation toward knowledge and student learning, the recitation is a functional response to the context of smallness, implicit parental and community expectations, inevitable student transfer to a large graded school, and threats…

Teacher shortage in rural localities is a long-standing issue in New Zealand. This paper reports on an attempt to reduce the impact of shortages by redesigning the way pre-service teacher education was delivered. Called the Mixed Media Programme (MMP), this is a primary (elementary) teacher education programme that was established in 1997 in New…

The 1993 issue of this annual journal contains five articles about rural education by rural English teachers. "Rural: The Only Place To Be" (Craig Akey) speaks of a personal commitment to rural education, presents examples of prose and poetry by junior and senior high school students in an innovative "outdoor literature"…