Rural America and its schools (which encompass nearly two-thirds of the 15,600 school districts in the United States) face an incredible array of challenges. Changes in demographic, economic, and social conditions are creating a new rural America which is beset by many problems. Rural poverty does not appear to be diminishing and researchers…

The report addresses characteristics and concerns of New Mexico's 19 smallest school districts with a 1981-82 average daily membership ranging from 262 to 60 students. Information was gathered from a Public School Finance Division questionnaire sent to the 19 superintendents; from a December 1981 meeting with 10 of the smallest districts; from…

Key points of presentations are captured in this report of a conference which addressed issues of concern to educators in Alaska's small schools and provided an opportunity for educators to share classroom approaches that work for them. A total of 77 presentations are briefly summarized. Contents are organized under the following headings: (1)…

Presenting information drawn primarily from interviews and visits to abandoned, operating, and restored country schools in Nebraska, this report is part of the Country School Legacy Project, intended to study the role rural schools played in the history of the frontier and to locate and preserve information related to country schools. The report…

The state superintendent, the county superintendent, and the one-room school teacher each contributed to classroom instruction in North Dakota. In 1895, the "School Text Book Law" provided for free text books and school supplies for all pupils; however, the law was not mandatory. Specific courses of study and elaborate handbooks on all…

As part of an eight-state research effort to locate and preserve information related to country schools, this report examines western South Dakota's country schools as historic sites, country schools as community centers, teachers (their roles, rules, and restrictions), school curriculum, education for Sioux Indians, and country schools today.…

A review of relevant available literature divides the functions of rural principals into six categories (instruction/curriculum leadership, personnel guidance, school/community relations, administrative responsibilities, evaluation, professional improvement) and provides suggestions on helpful material for each. Recent research on principals and…

Eleven Iowa towns in 11 counties and 11 Area Education Agencies (AEAs), having both elementary and high schools in 1960, were chosen via a rural-urban continuum to ascertain evidence of creativity in providing community services after losing the high school between 1960 and 1980. The study compared: community services in 1955-56 and 1980-81 (a…

A survey conducted as part of the continuous review of Eastern Montana College's teacher preparation program produced written responses from 62 classroom teachers, 8 principals, and 9 superintendents from rural schools in 4 Montana counties, who strongly supported the need for specialized preparation for rural teachers. Respondents recommended…

Eight on-site visits (focusing on school districts which did not use federal Vocational Education Act funds) were made with state vocational education administrators and rural school superintendents in two states to identify factors related to providing vocational education to rural secondary students, to ascertain why some rural districts did not…

The study documents what happened in 10 rural communities when a federal educational funding program (Experimental Schools) in 1972 provided 5-year grants for demonstration projects designed both to improve the school system and, through the schools, to address a variety of community needs. The study employs two strategies to document the ways in…

Successfully field tested in four villages in the Federal Capital Area, Pakistan, the model is designed to: identify and prioritize village concerns and educational needs; validate and analyze the needs with respect to village values and goals; and select, develop, implement, and evaluate a best solution. Major steps in the model are: data…

Resolutions resulting from the first statewide small school conference in Utah reflect the most pressing needs and concerns faced by Utah educators and lay citizens. They deal with small school certification, inherent strengths and weaknesses, preservice training, funding, research on innovations, and technical aid on community involvement in…

Examined were the differences which existed in schools among the following four types of school districts during 1933-34: those including no urban territory; those in large cities of more than 10,000 population; those in small cities of 2,500 to 10,000 population; and those including both rural and urban territories. Data were obtained from the…

Composite statistical data was collected on the education in all the rural counties of the United States. Data were drawn from the findings of two major surveys conducted by the Office of Education as a part of its 1954-56 "Biennial Survey of Education in the United States": (1) the Rural County Survey covered multi-district…