Reports on characteristics, career patterns, and career satisfaction of 269 teacher education graduates, 1966-1976, who completed either a bachelors degree or an M.A. in teaching. Finds that career satisfaction was related to degree program completed (masters vs. bachelors) and to school locale (rural vs. suburban). Contains 19 references. (SV)

Among 462 principals of small rural secondary schools in South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska, most perceived themselves as instructional leaders but spent the most time on general managerial duties. The tendency toward a task-oriented leadership style did not vary by gender or experience. Contains 20 references. (SV)

Reviews the research literature on continuing professional education for teachers and administrators in rural areas. Discusses conceptual contradictions in rural writings, describes research needs for rural staff development, suggests appropriate methodology for rural school studies, and calls for a national research agenda for rural education.…

Draws on a 1980 survey of 30,000 high school sophomores and 1982 followup to compare rural graduates and dropouts by race, sex, grades, test scores, socioeconomic status, self concept, locus of control, ratings of school conditions, and educational aspirations. Compares urban, rural, and suburban dropouts. Contains 18 references. (SV)

Analyzes Kansas statewide data on school building condition, capital outlay funding, and other fiscal aspects. Finds 32 variables that contribute to school districts' ability to sustain effective capital outlay programs. Concludes that district wealth significantly affects building condition and capital project planning, and suggests special…

Critiques the notion of school district efficiency and applies 1 definition to the performance of all 178 Kentucky districts. Finds that achievement test performance of inefficient districts exceeded that of efficient districts by .20 standard deviation, and that efficiency was related to smallness but not ruralness. Contains 26 references.…

Surveys of 117 special education teachers and administrators in rural Louisiana identified training needs of rural special educators: (1) generic approaches to teaching rural exceptional children; (2) effective strategies for adapting curriculum; (3) working with families; (4) knowledge of current legislation; and (5) working with a wide diversity…

Finds that, for 120 boys and girls in a rural Maine elementary school, a 36-week physical education program incorporating dance and movement education produced significant improvement on a wide variety of fundamental motor, physical fitness, and balance skills. Contains 17 references. (SV)

Considers the British 1988 Education Reform Act's reconceptualization of schooling and the associated process of curriculum reformulation in relation to equal opportunities. The particular focus of this article is sexual and racial inequality. Proposed curriculum reforms in mathematics, science, and English are examined within this context. (IAH)

This study focused on three areas of supply teachers' (N=20) experiences: their background and views about the job; how they negotiated their first meetings with new classes; and their response to inappropriate behavior. The disadvantages of supply teaching cited by these teachers outweighed advantages cited by two to one. (IAH)

Data are presented from an extended case study which focused on the differential power resources available to staff members within a school physical education department in England and on how these resources affected the quality of staff participation in the decision-making process related to curriculum change. (IAH)

A review of 21 quantitative studies of students in grades K-6 indicates that there are no significant differences in overall student achievement between multigrade and single-grade classrooms, while multigrade students strongly outperform single-grade students on measures of affect, attitudes, and social relationships. Contains 23 references. (SV)

Economies of scale frequently have been advanced as a rationale for rural school consolidation. This article defines the economies of scale principle; describes its application to public education; and reviews selected studies, 1959-86, from a rural education perspective. Notes the possible overstatement of economics of scale in some studies.…

Among 290 South Carolina principals and teachers, 80 percent or more answered correctly to questions on legal decisions about racial segregation, school newspapers, rights of handicapped and non-English-speaking students, student suspensions, tracking, and exit examinations; 12-22 percent answered "no idea" to questions about corporal punishment…

Reversing two decades of school-community turmoil, Valley View--a small, rural community in northeastern Vermont--approved a bond issue for school construction. This case study uses organizational and systems theory to examine structural, political, symbolic, and human resource influences on changing community attitudes. Contains 19 references.…