Electronic technology can be used to overcome many of the barriers to delivering services to rural schools and it can expand the world of rural gifted students. On-line college and high school sites offering courses are listed. Also listed is a site for tutoring and one offering help for teachers. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study examining the effectiveness of a farm safety resource that employed toys and props presented the resource to 79 primary schoolchildren from 3 schools in New South Wales (Australia). Children's recall was assessed at posttests of 1, 14, and 28 days. Children exposed to the resource recalled more hazards than did control-group children.…

Investigates the relationship between family economic hardship and adolescent distress among 622 students in grades 9-12. Hardship effects varied according to type of distress. Hardship had direct and indirect effects on the depression-loneliness factor and an indirect effect on the delinquency-drug use factor. (RJC)

A survey of 150 poor rural students in grades 4-8 revealed that age is relevant in choosing role models, that there are major gender differences in the types of glamour figures selected as role models and as simple figures of success, and that age and gender appear to affect youth's perceptions of success and their occupational choice. (LP)

A survey in a rural Texas school district revealed that as many as 85% of the students in grades 6-12 drink alcohol. Students believed their drinking routines to be normal, whereas teachers and parents felt that prevalent alcohol use and abuse had definite negative effects. (LP)

Examined the effects of a multicomponent, four-year hearing-conservation program for farm youth. Researchers conducted pre- and postintervention hearing tests in control and intervention students. Surveys examined family hearing loss, farm work, noise exposure, and hearing-protection device (HPD) utilization. Significantly more intervention…

A study examined how rural youth perceive leadership and how sense of place affects those perceptions. Interviews and observations of 12 students who participated in a leadership academy in 3 rural Texas high schools indicated that rural adolescents viewed leadership as situational. Teamwork and service were the elements of leadership that…

A study of 150 children and adolescents with reactive attachment disorder found that inpatient admission was related to limited psychosocial strengths, previous hospitalization, and history of sexual abuse. Most children admitted to inpatient care were rural and had never received community-based services. Implications for public health education,…

A survey and in-depth interviews in an isolated British coastal town examined adolescents' computer and Internet use at home and in school. Adults had ambitious, future-oriented notions about how such technologies would expand children's educational opportunities and social and spatial horizons; in contrast, adolescents actually used technology in…

The northern part of Sweden is characterised by depopulation and relatively high levels of unemployment among young people. As a consequence, a number of projects have been established for the purpose of strengthening young people's creativity and spirit of enterprise. The aim of this article is to problematise the concept of "enterprise…

Project Aspire was created to identify poor rural students with academic potential and to provide them with academic and counseling support in advanced placement courses and prerequisites. This article describes Project Aspire and its foundations; the relevant lessons learned from the literature on poverty, small schools, rural schools, and gifted…

This study investigates the relationship between postsecondary aspirations and vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, perceived educational barriers, and sources of support among a sample of rural Appalachian high school students. Using Social Cognitive Career Theory as the theoretical framework, vocational/educational…

American adolescents spend a significant portion of their time in leisure activities, but little research has been done on adolescent extrafamilial leisure activities, either alone or with peers. This paper examines adolescents' own accounts of such activities. As part of a longitudinal study of rural youth development, semistructured interviews…

The report and resource directory contained in this document represent the efforts of the Rural Families in Transition Work Group, one of six such groups recently created to respond to key issues arising from the farm financial crisis. The directory is intended for use by extension agents in identifying educational resources across the region that…

The 1980s found the U.S. economy vulnerable in the global marketplace. Many observers have argued that workforce education and skill levels are too low, particularly in rural areas. In this book, four studies examine the education crisis, the relationship between the education shortfall and rural economic stagnation, the importance of local…