The network of small rural schools in Finland has been radically weakened since the global recession of the 1990s. This article focuses on the social role of rural schools and the phenomenon of school closures. Our aim is to look at rural schools from the viewpoint of local residents and examine how they experience school closures. We seek to hear…

Teachers' lives and teachers' work remain important areas of educational research today, particularly given the influence of school-based management and the significance of shared leadership in schools. Almost nowhere do the two research fields intersect more closely than in the remote school setting, where teacher turnover is high and the…

Though many maintain that current standards-based school reform is unprecedented, an educational reform effort begun nearly a century ago set standards for improving rural midwestern schools. Begun during the tumultuous Progressive Era, the standard-school initiative emerged from a larger concern for the quality of American rural life. A…

Examines the effects of a state standards-based reform--the Maine Learning Results--on curriculum and instruction in four small rural schools, focusing particularly on the impact on locally responsive curricula in the schools. Suggests that state standards and place-based curriculum may not be as incompatible as previously suggested. (Author/SV)

In a reborn rural community populated by former urbanites, a small private school established by newcomers provides a place where upper-middle-class newcomer families negotiate their sense of rural place and contest that sense with working-class long-time residents' concept of rurality. Former urbanites' conception of rural community emerges as…

Group discussions and interviews with counselors in small and rural schools in Maine and upstate New York focused on the advantages and disadvantages of working in small schools, role generalization and confusion experienced by school counselors, professional autonomy and accountability, and the need for relevant inservice training. (Contains 33…

Discusses collaboration among small rural schools in Wales and how such collaboration is supported by the education authorities. Recent legislation led to the reorganization of Welsh education authorities and this, together with new demands and reduced resources, affected their support for small rural schools. Three models of school collaboration…

School or district size was found to interact with socioeconomic status to influence student achievement in West Virginia; small schools facilitated the achievement of impoverished students, whereas large schools facilitated the achievement of affluent students. Addresses implications for educational policy and future research into effects of…

Reviews a book that documents the circumstances surrounding the closure of a small, rural West Virginia high school. The book's strength derives largely from its crossing of disciplinary borders to address social, political, and economic factors that have influenced changing educational values and the trend toward consolidation in rural West…

Reviews research on the association between school size and educational outcomes and considers policy implications of that research. Suggests a shift of value from large size to small size. Describes current state finance formulas, with an emphasis on sparsity and geographical isolation factors. Identifies policy considerations relative to the use…

Higher-order thinking skills in science and mathematics were compared for high school students in large and small schools, controlling for SES, number of advanced courses offered, and enrollment rate in those courses. School size, number of advanced courses offered, and rurality had no effect on high-order thinking skills. (KS)

A professional development model implemented in rural Iowa schools involves participation of school teams in school improvement, technical assistance based on needs assessment, focus on teaching and learning strategies that promote meaningful connections, extended planning time, recognition that change requires long-term support, networking of…

Examination of interviews and surveys provides an overview of the problems and needs of rural school teachers in multigrade classrooms. A review of research and teacher reports in the U.S. and other countries compares instructional methods in multigrade and single grade classrooms. Implications for teacher preparation, classroom organization, and…

An ethnographic study of high school seniors in a small rural midwestern high school revealed that, although there was a lack of direct parent and community involvement, the small cohesive class of 30 students constructed a school culture that promoted participation, cooperation, high expectations, and academic achievement. (LP)

Research reveals that high school students in small schools participate more in extracurricular activities than their peers in large schools; that a high degree of student participation provides opportunities for enhancing leadership, responsibility, and motivation; that students in small schools feel needed; and that the benefits of…