Rural education trends in the 1980s--influenced by decreased federal, state, and local funding and demands for higher academic standards and greater accountability--will have a significant impact on staff development in small and rural schools. Along with ebbing support for compensatory education and increased focus on math and science achievement, rural schools can expect a decrease in new hires which will result in a staff of teachers with the greatest seniority--those with the most time elapsed since preservice training--while funds for inservice teacher training will be scarce. In these circumstances rural administrators will need effective staff development activities to improve the awareness, attitudes, and skills of staff members. Studies by the Rural Education Advisory Committee and the National Rural Project have identified four characteristics of successful rural school staff development programs: (1) focus on topics relevant to rural educators; (2) respond to the varied stages of adult development; (3) provide follow through supervision which enables individual teachers to translate the ideas presented in training to every day rural classroom situations; and (4) plan long-term staff development activities to address the stages of concern about change which the teachers will naturally feel as they attempt to implement instructional changes. (JHZ)