A year-long study investigated the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of rural educators concerning gifted learners and their educational needs. Participants were all K-12 teachers (43) and administrators (3) in a single, rural southeastern Kansas school district serving 518 students. During the study, conducted in school year 1985, teachers attended inservice sessions related to gifted education and completed a series of surveys and questionnaires which dealt with perception of myths associated with gifted education, attitudes toward gifted education, and knowledge of teaching models for gifted education. Findings of the myths survey indicated that these rural educators held to virtually none of the myths, which included the idea that gifted education cannot occur in the regular classroom; both elementary and secondary teachers clearly believed that gifted students can be served in the general classroom. Teachers were interested in curriculum design for gifted learners but reported little knowledge of teaching models associated with gifted education. These results suggest that curriculum development is a crucial need of rural educators, particularly in states where gifted education is a legislative mandate. (JHZ)