Reports on five observations of children and adults involved in music activities and discusses three issues related to experimental research. Argues against the Mozart Effect, stating that the effects of music instruction seen within the classroom everyday are more significant. Discusses the results of Mozart Effect studies and educational…

Examines teachers' mentor influences, focusing on student teachers' perceptions and descriptions of their mentors. Finds that preservice music teachers had a significantly higher number of mentors than elementary educators and suggests that most followed traditional patterns in mentoring relationships. Highlights the implications for those who…

Investigates job satisfaction and attrition factors for music teachers through interviews of 30 music teachers within their first 10 years of teaching. Finds that teachers view three factors as essential to their well-being: (1) positive administrative support; (2) resources to do one's job; and (3) a support network, including experienced music…

Explores the changes in attitude and social engagement of students exposed to a special curriculum to promote tolerance versus those enrolled in typical music education preparation courses. Indicates that comfort levels with those from diverse/different background increased, the use of slurs decreased, and confrontations with others who made slurs…

Despite the need for more and better research on rural education, recent federal policy trends favoring broadly applicable, "problem-centered" research threaten to abandon responsibility for "targeted" populations to the agendas of private and state-based organizations. Rural research funding is discussed in relation to the regional educational…

Nationally, rural students in grade 8 outperformed their nonrural counterparts on the mathematics section of the 1996 National Assessment of Education Progress. Fourteen states had significant rural-urban differences in mathematics achievement, but seven favored rural students and seven favored nonrural students. This pattern was related to six…

Examines rural educational reforms in a small, isolated, economically disadvantaged Ohio school; an advantaged Michigan school; and an Iowa elementary school with a growing Hispanic population. Common elements contributing to reform success: supportive school culture, attention to change principles, research-based strategies, local adaptations,…

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)

Compares standards-based reforms with rural school improvement efforts that emphasize locally responsive, place-based curricula. Concludes that while the two movements differ in philosophical orientation, they share the goals of increasing equity in schools, making curricula and pedagogy intellectually rigorous, and creating content and…

Examples from 10 Appalachian rural schools demonstrate how developing curricula around local interests builds on students' prior experience and makes education relevant, and how educational experiences that are intimately connected to one's community develop a sense of civic responsibility. Information technology enables students to see the myriad…

The use of "recitation" lessons in a rural Nebraska one-room school was investigated. Conservative in its orientation toward knowledge and student learning, the recitation is a functional response to the context of smallness, implicit parental and community expectations, inevitable student transfer to a large graded school, and threats to…

A study of 45,206 high school seniors investigated their participation and performance in mathematics subjects taken to complete the secondary education qualification in Victoria, Australia. Gender differences varied with the particular assessment administered. There was a significant regional effect where rural students, particularly males,…

Energy Express is a summer reading and nutrition program for disadvantaged young children in 80 rural West Virginia communities. College student/AmeriCorps mentors support childrens' literacy by creating a print-rich environment, using a place-based curriculum, and providing activities, including a community service project. Two case studies…

An elementary teacher education program was established in southeastern British Columbia (Canada) to meet staffing needs in six rural school districts by establishing a pool of teachers likely to remain in the area. A 5-year study of the first cohort of 22 teachers found that 20 held teaching jobs and 17 were still living in the area. (TD)

A research agenda was developed to examine effects of rural school busing on rural children, families, and communities. The agenda addresses the history, politics, and financing of rural school busing; social, cultural, health, and safety considerations; geographic justice and school distribution; relationship to consolidation; influences on…