To fulfill its obligations to rural constituents, higher education should develop teacher training programs that (1) prepare teachers as generalists to accept broad teaching responsibilities; (2) help teachers understand the close school/community bonds in rural areas; and (3) prepare teachers to develop self-sufficiency in rural settings. (PB)

Updated vocational agricultural programs and school-based enterprises can help rebuild rural economies. Advantages of vocational agricultural programs include leadership training, a problem-solving approach to the teaching of sciences and mathematics, and strong community support. School-based enterprises combine educational objectives and local…

The role of technology in rural Alaskan education is described in relation to seven problems: remoteness; limited curricula; small, multigraded classes; imbedded cultural traditions; dispersed management structures; inadequate training opportunities; and high cost. The issues of control, standardization, and scale are also discussed. (PB)

Teleconferences are one method for improving the quality of schooling in rural communities. Among suggestions for enhancing teleconferencing are face-to-face meetings, familiarity with teleconference technology, and advance notice to students of materials to be examined in such courses. (PB)

Self-interested political, corporate, and education leaders have undermined recent West Virginia court decisions mandating educational reform. Three implications are: (1) principals, teachers, parents, and students must be equal partners in the educaiton reform process; (2) a constituency for rural children is needed; and (3) rural educators must…

The court decision required high-quality educational standards to be written in specific detail. The master plan identified four elements of an effective educational system: standards for high-quality programs and services; required administrative and instructional practices; equitable funding methods; and accountability. (PB)

Research on compensatory education from 1965 to 1975 questioned whether such programs improved academic performance. Subsequent studies, however, have found compensatory education generally effective and have identified such components of successful basic skills instruction as greater time on task and more parental involvement. (PB)

Research emphasizes the connection between effective schools and the degree and quality of principals' leadership. Ethnographic studies show that effective principals create organizational unity, exercise judgment with discretion and personal accountability, exploit confusion to their own advantage, and balance stability and innovation. Management…

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a Texas school superintendent, having failed to submit a written contract to the school board for execution, had no basis for holding that a property interest in employment existed. Certainty about binding obligations requires written agreements signed by both parties. (PB)

Northeastern Illinois University provides supervised practical experience in its two-semester administration practicum. Students work with field administrators and a university supervisor to accomplish prearranged tasks. The university supervisory requires students to maintain a log of practicum activities, attend discussion seminars, and make a…

Proposes both low-cost strategies (administrator academies, teacher institutes, school improvement projects, information dissemination programs) and high-cost strategies (teacher compensation, longer school day and year, greater reliance on technology) for improving educational quality. The author concludes with a discussion of educational…

Although the need for educational improvement in United States schools has recently gained increasing attention, current proposals for bringing about reform do not effectively address the problem of teacher and school isolation and thus fail to offer sufficiently systematic plans for implementation. (JBM)

The value of Orwell's novel is not to be found in point-by-point comparison between the society it portrays and our own, but in its treatment of such important issues as the centrality of language in thought and action and the dangerous potential bureaucratic organizations have to dominate our minds. (JBM)

Replicating a survey of high school students of the class of 1952, the author's survey of the class of 1984 shows greater agreement with the "Founding Fathers" on many issues, with a larger percentage of students willing to allow police searches without warrants and deny legal counsel to criminals. (JBM)

A tenured college professor offering a course entitled "Human Knowledge: An In-Depth Survey" is forced to cancel the course and go into early retirement when students rebel against such "outdated" course requirements as compulsory attendance, written examinations, and grades. (JBM)