ERIC Number: ED421325
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1998-Apr
Pages: 85
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Characteristics of Rural One-Room Schools in Barbour County, West Virginia, That Represent Characteristics of Rural One-Room Schools in General.
Hepler, Linda
The characteristics of one-room rural schools in Barbour County, West Virginia, are representative of one-room rural school characteristics in general. These include building design and problems; teacher' lives and duties, certification, salaries, and training; scheduling and curriculum; games; punishments; and hot lunch programs. Since one-room schools no longer operate in Barbour County, data included personal communications with people who had taught in or attended the schools. A historical background discusses state school laws from 1642 to 1936. A literature review details general characteristics of rural one-room schools: design, construction, and facilities; restrictions on teachers' private lives; teachers' instructional and extracurricular duties; use of the school as an agency for community change; teacher certification requirements and salaries; establishment of normal schools in West Virginia for teacher training; inservice education; daily scheduling and curriculum in the schoolhouse; games played; undesirable and appropriate punishments; early hot lunch programs; and facility lighting, heating, and ventilation problems. Drawing on personal anecdotes, characteristics of Barbour County's one-room schools are discussed in relation to prevailing characteristics nationwide. Identified benefits of small-scale schooling include: (1) feasibility of democratic practices; (2) accountability of faculty performance; (3) individualized attention to student needs; (4) safe and orderly learning environments; (5) parental access to school leadership, and (6) development of a high-quality curriculum. Contains 35 references. (SAS)
Descriptors: Educational History, Educational Practices, Elementary Secondary Education, Institutional Characteristics, One Teacher Schools, Rural Schools, School Administration, School Buildings, State History, Teacher Certification, Teacher Education, Teaching Conditions, Teaching Experience, Women Faculty
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses; Historical Materials; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: West Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A