Elementary education is that training which by common custom is deemed desirable and necessary for the duties and privileges of citizenship. It is usually made compulsory by law. Like all such definitions, the meaning of this statement becomes clear only through an examination of its interpretation as given in the curricula of the various school…

In all States of the Union having a large rural population, efforts are made to adjust the work of the country schools to the needs of country life. There is a widespread feeling that the schools must become a more important factor in country life than they have been and contribute more toward the solution of its problems. To that end normal…

This is the 2006 National Council of Professors of Educational Administration "NCPEA" Yearbook. This yearbook is being distributed to all of the registered participants of the 2006 NCPEA Summer Conference, to be held in Lexington, Kentucky. "Unbridled Spirit" is the motto for Kentucky, hence inclusion in the title for the…

Through their visits and conversations with students, teachers, and administrators involved in the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) over the past decade, the people at Inverness Research Associates came to believe that ARSI served as an important leadership capacity-building effort for improving mathematics and science education in…

The mission of the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) was to build a long-term capacity that would improve the educational structures of the rural communities it served. The major strategy ARSI used to create improvement communities across Appalachia was to identify, embrace and educate individual teachers, who became ARSI Teacher…

Student responses to a tertiary, flexibly delivered physics course are examined. The course was designed to provide secondary science teachers in rural regions of NSW, Australia, with a qualification appropriate to teach senior physics, and is a response to the lack of new physical science teachers currently being trained. Evaluations indicate…

This proceedings contains 67 conference papers on rural special education. Papers present the newest and most innovative promising practices for rural special education, current research, contemporary discussions of theory or theory development, and topics of timely concern. The papers are organized in order of presentation, and are categorized in…

Although a major purpose of the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) is to measure science achievement, it is also designed to provide information that can be used to improve curriculum and instruction. Student, teacher, and principal surveys were used to gather information on instruction, training, resources and other variables…

A synthesis of research findings addressing effects of population and economic changes on education supply and demand in rural communities also presents policy implications, to help with local decision making. Principal research findings listed include: lack of a statistical relationship between per pupil expenditures and achievement on…

The paper summarizes the first year (1983-84) of a 3-year rural education project entailing collaboration between the College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) and rural chief school officers (CSOs) to improve service to handicapped students. Project objectives are listed: to improve education of mainstreamed handicapped students by helping CSOs…

The fairness of equalization formulas adopted by the government of Manitoba (Canada) is assessed. A conclusion is that although the concept of equalization is equitable, implementation of the policy is problematic. Limitations of the current equalization formula are that property assessment per pupil is an invalid index of fiscal capacity;…

This needs assessment identified six educational needs and issues of schools in the Northwest region, prioritized Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) areas of emphasis, evaluated research/development strategies to address these needs and priorities, and applied assessment results to NWREL program planning activities. Assessment…

A University of Alaska staff member, two local teachers, and two community members used on-site visits, observations, questionnaires, and interviews to assess development of the Manokotak school from its inception in 1947 to 1984 as perceived by community members, school staff, and students. Rural and cross-cultural, the Alaskan school served 117…

To examine available research, largely done after 1965, and identify factors influencing academic performance of Amish students in public schools, particularly in Indiana, material was divided into four annotated bibliographic sections: Amish definition of education (three items); Amish attitudes toward education, as reflected in their society…

A 3-year cooperative program between the College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) and surrounding rural school districts has two main goals: to help rural Chief School Officers (CSOs) design staff development activities to meet educational needs of mainstreamed handicapped students and to improve the college's preservice teacher education program…