A study using historical statistics as a strategy for joining the study of the past and present condition of colleges and universities has as subjects Amherst College, Harvard University, Transylvania University, the University of Kentucky, and the College of William and Mary. (MSE)

A study of the use of logit analysis for examining an institution's retention of graduate students determined that when the independent variables are categorical and the dependent variables are dichotomous, logit analysis is more appropriate than discriminant analysis or multiple regression. (MSE)

A study of faculty contact with college freshmen and sophomores and the students' grade point averages (GPA) found little reciprocity. GPA was most strongly affected by high school performance and academic integration, and faculty contact was most influenced by advisor contact, talking in class, and campus organization membership. (MSE)

Discusses the federated school district, a cooperative organizational alternative for low enrollment rural districts facing enrollment decline or fiscal exigency. Describes district characteristics: local elementary schools, small regional high schools, a governing assembly, and a multiple district administrative system. Includes a planning model…

Reviews studies of unit costs among schools of differing size in United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and Sudan. Concludes that studies suggest economies of scale in larger schools, but extent of economies and point where schools encounter diseconomies vary widely. Notes that control for quality is problematic. (DHP)

Examines the relative contributions of gender and context (rural, urban, suburban) in explaining variability among high school students on measures of vocabulary, reading comprehension, mathematics, perceptual discrimination, paired-associated memory, and spatial reasons. Reports that with socioeconomic status controlled, gender and context…

Compares responses of counselors in isolated school settings to their non-isolated peers on work environment issues. Reports isolated counselors viewed themselves and their role as more highly valued and felt a greater sense of control than their non-isolated peers, but found obstacles to service delivery in isolated settings. (Author/DHP)

Describes the results of a survey of 108 rural South Dakota high school principals. Reports that, although principals envision themselves as instructional leaders, a majority of the day is spent on general managerial duties and discipline, with principals more concerned about task completion than about individuals or school climate. (Author/DHP)

Describes the results of a study of the preferred learning style of rural and urban secondary school students. Reports rural students significantly higher in serious, analytical, and active practical learner characteristics than their urban counterparts as well as more observation centered and fact oriented. (Author/DHP)

Describes results of a survey of 30 superintendents who were asked to identify the most critical issues in managing and running small rural school districts. Reports finances were the greatest worry, followed by regional economic conditions, state regulations, salaries, and providing an adequate variety of classes. (Author/DHP)

Describes results of a study of differences between rural parents' and non-parents' knowledge about child development. Reports adults' knowledge in general was limited, but women and parents with children scored higher on the child development measures than men, with or without children. Discusses implications and directions for parent education.…

Examines evidence on the effects of school and school district size in light of the educational reform movement and increasingly sophisticated telecommunications. Discusses an emerging technology of individualization that could alter conceptions of optimal school size. Focuses on New York studies. Contains 35 references. (SV)

Portrays the controversy surrounding schools and education in a rural community experiencing both an influx of urban and suburban newcomers and the effects of urban sprawl. Reports on surveys of student educational attitudes, household information, and outside activities, and on interviews with teachers, school administrators, and residents.…

Finds that, among 491 rural tenth and twelfth grade students: (1) over 60 percent expected to attend college; (2) most aspired to occupations with higher status than their parents'; and (3) students' plans for advanced education were strongly related to parental expectations. Contains 18 references. (SV)

Reports on structured interviews with 24 teachers in 4 rural secondary schools concerning their level of satisfaction with teaching in rural schools, advantages and problems of rural schools and communities, factors helping or hindering better teaching, teacher role in curriculum development, and teacher extracurricular activities and outside…