This study used data from a national survey of homosexual and bisexual public school teachers to explore differences among participants in rural, suburban, and urban schools. A survey was sent to 1,350 participants through national, state, and urban based gay teacher organizations. Of those sampled, 904 responded. Findings included the following:…

In 1994, a 2-day symposium was conducted on a broadened, more inclusive mission for rural schools--rural schools functioning as community learning and service centers. The symposium aimed to enhance the knowledge base related to five key dimensions that must be planned, implemented, and evaluated when designing rural schools in this fashion:…

The College of Education of Ohio University has developed a number of partnerships with public schools in southeastern Ohio. The partnerships described share at least six common threads: (1) a beginning in informal conversation; (2) a shared set of goals; (3) an early focus on preservice teacher preparation; (4) a gradual expansion towards…

This paper presents a critical qualitative account and analysis of resistance and contestation over the decision-making process in a special education program. The parties involved were four parent advocates, who formed an advocacy organization, and the school administration in a rural school district in the Midwest. A subtle but powerful bias…

The focus of this paper is to further understanding of the distribution and the effects of an expanded conception of opportunity to learn on student mathematics achievement. In addition to descriptive statistics, a set of two-level hierarchical linear models was employed to analyze a subset of the restricted-use National Education Longitudinal…

This document provides a portfolio of resources for educators involved in rural school improvement. The Federal Interagency Committee on Education developed a national research and development (R&D) agenda for rural education that focuses on six themes: rural school effectiveness, curricular provisions, school-community partnerships, human…

In 1966, the Arkansas Education Association (AEA) presented a plan to consolidate school districts by dissolving all school districts with less than 400 students. The proposal spawned an enormous debate, and opponents organized a political action committee named the Arkansas Rural Education Association (AREA). The issues involved were: (1) the…

Principals of 62 elementary and secondary rural schools in a 20-county area of the upper Cumberland region of Tennessee were surveyed about the status of rural school facilities and their accommodation of various curricular and extracurricular offerings. Small class size was reported by 58 percent. The high incidence of Internet-operable schools…

The problems that middle school special education students experience in the academic area of social studies were addressed in this practicum. The students could not grasp the ideas, received poor grades, and exhibited a very poor attitude about the relevance of social studies as an academic concern. The special education social studies classes…

Most educational movements have been in the direction of national standards, have been urban oriented, and often have failed to recognize or acknowledge the uniqueness of rural education. Consequently, rural education has become little more than a second thought as teachers' skills are developed. This paper examines the contribution colleges of…

This report focuses on the status of rural education and is intended to provide information to education researchers, policymakers at the federal and state levels, as well as others concerned about issues in rural education. Specifically, the goal is to increase federal policymakers' attention to rural education problems, promote improvements in…

A 1983 directory of resources for small and rural school districts lists resources for improving schools, national resources, foundations as funding sources, and state educational agency staff who can assist rural schools with information and technical assistance requests. The first section describes school improvement resources/projects by…

This document describes a longitudinal study of the role of sports in the lives of minority youth during the 1980s. Data were analyzed from the High School and Beyond study and all findings were proven to be statistically significant after multiple regression analyses. The term "athletes" refers to those individuals who reported…

This monograph investigates issues related to the financial support of rural schools. The first section describes various state formulas and the methods used to distribute funds to rural schools. It considers questions about the adequacy of funding adjustments based on sparsity and the relationship of such adjustments to equal educational…

The study investigates the relationship of small district teacher aspirations, career patterns, residential preferences, biographic characteristics, motivations, and perceptions of organizational and community factors to teacher turnover intentions in selected small districts in New Mexico in the spring 1983. The population studied included 262…