This volume presents methods and first-year findings from the urban and suburban/rural studies of Special Strategies for Educating Disadvantaged Children, a 3-year project that is collecting case study data on 10 different strategies identified as holding promise for educating this group of children. Data collected by Special Strategies involve…

The Appalachia Educational Laboratory qualitative study of the implementation of five aspects of the Kentucky Education Reform Act in four rural school districts is now in its fourth year. This paper focuses on findings concerning the first year of the primary program, which was put into widespread operation in 1992-93. Nongraded primary programs…

This paper reports the evaluation of a project undertaken by the Sarawak Education Department to improve the quality of education in upper primary classes in rural Sarawak, Malaysia. The project is known officially as the Programme for Learning Enrichment, and commonly as the Van Leer Project, after the international agency which provides the main…

Part of the North Slope Borough District, the two schools in the Inupiaq village of Wainwright, Alaska, began to take advantage of communications technology for teaching, administration, and staff training purposes in 1983. At that time, three teachers took a course offered by the University of Alaska via computer and audio-conference on the…

A special education teacher and an administrator in each of 17 small rural public school districts in New Mexico were interviewed to identify problems with and strategies for providing special education services in the districts. According to teachers, the most severe problems involved acquiring appropriate equipment and materials, recruiting…

A report compares 30 small/rural K-12 school districts (900 students or fewer) in Illinois to 642 similar districts nationwide, using data from 1982-83. Qualifying districts were identified as 4,125 nationwide (26.4% of all public school districts) and 221 in Illinois (22.4%, enrolling 121,570 students). A questionnaire was mailed to…

Data gathered during 1982-83 are used to compare 41 small/rural K-12 Iowa school districts (900 students or fewer) to 642 similar districts nationwide. In Iowa, 307 qualifying districts (70.7% of all public school districts), enrolling 154,130 students, were identified; 4,125 districts nationwide qualified. A questionnaire mailed to…

To increase enrollment in high school science classes and, thereby, increase scientific literacy among Americans, efforts must begin in elementary and middle schools. The Blue Mountain Small School Consortium, nine small and rural schools in southeastern Washington, cooperated with Whitman College in a search for improved methods of teaching…

This study used high school data from Phi Delta Kappa's 1988-1989 nationwide "Study of Students at Risk" to examine and compare administrator, teacher, and student attitudes, characteristics, and perceptions in 77 high schools sorted according to high and low holding power statistics (HPS). Data from 7,100 10th graders, principals, and…

Regional and subregional division characteristics of public elementary and secondary education in the United States are reported. Characteristics associated with urbanicity and wealth are also reported. Factors examined are those most commonly used to identify the resources, needs, organization, and special characteristics of education within each…

This collection of conference presentations focuses on the twin themes of restructuring and technology in rural schools. Rural America's increasingly polarized demographics, political leadership voids, teacher training, renewal strategies, and ever-shrinking budgets are discussed, along with ongoing media criticism, which is a reality for all…

This issue of "Network News" focuses on efforts to remedy the dropout problem. The following programs' common goal is not only to retain students through graduation, but to ensure that they acquire the skills necessary to take their place as productive members of society: (1) the Classroom Partners Project, a collaborative effort between…

The goals and purposes of the National Rural Education Association (N.R.E.A) as revised in October 1986 derive from the general goal to improve educational opportunities for children in rural areas with additional attention to those for whom opportunities have been severely limited in the past. Specific goals/objectives concerning national…

Questionnaires were mailed in 1986 to school board presidents in small rural districts across the United States in order to identify the characteristics of successful rural school superintendents and the qualities that rural school boards look for when hiring a superintendent. There were 93 usable responses from 28 states. Analysis of the…

Adults in a multi-ethnic, small, rural school district were surveyed to determine their evaluation and expectations of district schools. Of the 301 respondents, 72% were Jicarilla Apache/other Indian, 14% Spanish/Mexican, and 14% Anglo; most were aged 19-45; 81% had completed high school; 76% were employed. Respondents rated the elementary, high,…