According to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey, rural workers score somewhat lower than urban workers in ability to use written and quantitative materials. However, scores of rural and urban young adults are similar, reflecting recent improvements in rural education. Rural workers earn less than urban workers with similar literacy skills;…

Examined personality profiles and career aspirations of rural, underachieving seventh graders from low socioeconomic families who were selected to participate in college reach-out program designed to help students complete high school and enroll in postsecondary education programs. Students' career choices were typical of early adolescents,…

Data from new first-quarter students from 1982-88 (n=288) showed that (1) numbers of rural, semirural, urban, and suburban youth were relatively equal; (2) American College Test scores, unconditional admission, and class rank increased over the years; and (3) rural/semirural students took more high school vocational agriculture, but number of…

Sampled 1,004 eighth and tenth graders in 23 rural communities to examine peer influence and drug use. Students who perceived higher degree of drug use among friends and who received more information about drugs from friends used drugs more frequently. Findings support theory that peer pressure is related to drug abuse. (Author/NB)

Describes the author's experience teaching a class of remote and isolated children using Air (broadcast) Lessons and Distance Education lesson materials. (WRM)

Investigated tobacco use from 1976-1992 among urban and rural adolescents using data from Monitoring the Future, a project that examines high school seniors' risk behaviors and sociodemographics annually. Results suggest rural white males smoke most often and urban black females smoke least often when compared to other groups. Smoking rates…

In 1998, 27 percent of rural children in the South were poor, compared to 17 percent elsewhere; the rural South also had more severe child poverty. Nationally, poor children were more likely to live in mother-only families; be Black; and have younger, less-educated, or unemployed parents. These factors were more prevalent in the rural South than…

Analysis of data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project establishes that parents' social involvement is a source of social capital for their children. Rural children's connection to a civic culture and their involvement in community groups are encouraged by parental social participation and further enhanced by parents' ties to farming. (Contains…

Sampled 49 students in a structured telephone interview to ascertain factors that are most instrumental to high school seniors when selecting postsecondary institutions. Found some differences between urban and rural students' influencing factors. (EV)

Regional suburbanization processes are transforming rural America socially and physically, threatening the uniqueness of small towns whose diversity is a national resource. This article reviews existing holistic descriptions of American rural communities since post-World War II by rural sociologists and anthropologists. Three new community case…

Purpose: The purposes of this pilot study were to examine prevalence of depressive symptoms among rural adolescents and identify related social and environmental variables. Methods: A convenience sample of 299 14- to 18-year-old agriculture class students at 5 rural high schools in Kentucky and Iowa completed a survey that included demographic…

This study examined the relationship between end-of-year grades and the academic, behavioral, and social characteristics of rural African American youth. Participants included 392 7th and 8th grade students from 2 rural middle schools in the south. Participants were African American and were from 2 communities that have child poverty rates…

This paper reviews the literature on rural poverty in the Northeast relating to rural education and makes suggestions for educators who teach the rural poor. Against the theory of a "culture of poverty," which suggests that the rural poor avoid hard work by choice, the more recent view is that the poor often accept the Puritan work ethic…

A program for improving adolescents' decision-making skills to reduce the number of inappropriate behavioral choices related to wellness is described. The targeted population consisted of seventh and tenth grade students in a rural, middle class community. Data from local law enforcement records and school-based program referrals supported…

This paper highlights a panel discussion dealing with different perceptions of disability and how these perceptions are influenced by the experience of living with, working with, and teaching children with handicaps. One panel participant, a Native American, discusses her experience in accepting and loving her handicapped daughter. She counsels…