An investigation of the characteristic structuring of rural communities in Appalachia and the institutional channels for change which exist within such communities comprise this revised version of a paper read at the Extension Leaders Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1968. Specifically, this essay discusses how education, the mass media, religious institutions, the local governmental structure, the economic contact between urban America and rural agricultural communities, and the contact structure between outer and inner educational systems in Appalachia attempt to integrate rural and urban subcultures. Emphasis is placed on the communication and linkage between these analytically distinct systems and how the nature of that contact situation affects an articulation of the regional community and national sociocultural systems so that they function as a single system. Two main inferences emerge in the conclusion: (1) that a heavy investment of societal resources in the educational institutions at the elementary and secondary level would be a most effective strategy for securing the well-being of the Appalachian people, and (2) that agencies, such as the Extension Service or Programs of Adult Education, and organizations, such as the Community College System and Teacher Training Schools, should become more cognizant of the supportive role they play in strengthening the linkages between rural Appalachian communities and modern, rural America. (HBC)