Written in 1912, this book addresses the role of teachers in improving rural farm life. Rural-to-urban migration had resulted in the loss of leadership from rural localities and the decline of agriculture, and country life had lost its prestige both socially and economically. This book suggests that the country school is the key to achieving…

This document presents a collection of papers to be used as a practical guide and reference for delivering library services to small rural schools. The document targets rural school teachers, new school librarians, county superintendents, and rural and small school boards of trustees. Papers cover: (1) issues related to library administration,…

This report characterizes the problem of shortage of qualified special educators in rural schools and describes the Rural Special Educator Project developed to address this problem in Maine. The traditional model demanding that individuals wishing to broaden their skills must leave their community to receive training works in direct opposition to…

This document reports on a six-part study conducted during 1993-94 evaluating rural secondary education in Alaska. A survey of 152 graduates of Mt. Edgecumbe High School (a boarding school attended by rural students) examined how well their educational experiences prepared them for college, trade school, and employment. A telephone survey of 800…

This book compares small schools in various countries with large ones and offers cost effective strategies for small schools. Part I focuses on social, economic, and educational issues related to small schools. Small schools are beneficial to their communities as centers of social development. In addition, small schools have a more cooperative…

For many remote northern communities, especially Native American communities, school design, construction, and heating would be more culturally and technologically appropriate if local materials and expertise were utilized. Following World War II, the period of the most rapid "de-localization" of northern communities, the allegedly…

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…