Drawing information from federal statistical sources, this digest summarizes recent changes in rural demographic and economic conditions relevant to rural school systems. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. economy has been strong, and rural areas have been growing at the same rate or faster than the nation's economic pace. Benefiting from the steady…

This book consists of 13 essays discussing rural poverty in the United States, including historical and current conditions of rural poverty, underlying the social, economic, and political factors, and policy implications. The book is organized into three parts. Part 1 consists of four essays that provide a comprehensive description of the poverty…

During an extensive search for college curricula focused on rural poverty, the Rural Sociological Society's Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty identified only a dozen such courses being taught in the United States today. This guidebook provides professors and instructors with a conveniently organized set of sample syllabi and instructional…

This collection features 11 papers from a national symposium on rural education. The papers are consistent in noting that while there are common elements among all schools regardless of location, rural schools operate within a unique context. Several papers address the diversity of rural locales and the challenges educators face in such locales.…

Seventeen papers review recent changes in the structure and performance of the rural economy and examine alternative policies to facilitate the adjustment of displaced people and their communities. Some point to economic structural change in the 1980s as the cause of financial stress in rural America, in sharp contrast with the 1970s when growth…

Implan (Impact Analysis for Planning) is a microcomputer-based system for constructing regional economic accounts and input-output tables. It is currently maintained by the U.S. Forest Service at the Fort Collins Computer Center (Colorado) with assistance from the University of Minnesota. It provides software capabilities and a data base for…

Rural residents have traditionally received fewer essential health care services than their urban counterparts because of lack of coherent health care policy, institutional and regulatory impediments, and the special costs of delivering health care in a rural setting. Lack of adequate health services affects all rural residents, including…

This case study assesses the impact of the farm sector on the economy and social organization of Decatur County (Kansas), a county which has historically depended on agriculture for its livelihood. Data were obtained from analysis of time series statistical indicators for the period between 1966 and 1984, questionnaire responses of local…

This study describes the political environment that confronts rural advocates, and identifies the boundaries within which rural policy can be developed, promoted, and adopted with some degree of success. Congress designs and implements national policy; therefore, its composition affects advancements in rural policy. Rural residents comprise 24% of…

Three days of hearings focused on rural America, in general, and on South Dakota (as the most agrarian of all states), in particular, in an attempt to formulate a blueprint for a national agenda on improving the state of rural America. The first day's sessions addressed the outlook for the South Dakota economy. The second day's sessions considered…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONFERENCE WAS TO BRING TOGETHER AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND GROUPS CONCERNED WITH POVERTY IN SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES. REPRESENTATIVES OF 53 ORGANIZATIONS MET IN TUCSON TO LEARN OF POVERTY FROM THE POOR. DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE OF ANGLO, INDIAN, NEGRO, AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN BACKGROUNDS WERE HEARD IN A FORMAT SIMILAR TO THAT…

A 1960-63 research project surveyed cultural, social, and economic backgrounds of the primarily Metis and Treaty Indian populations of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Data were obtained through interviews and consultations with people living and working in the North; published and unpublished government reports and documents were also utilized.…

The rural community college must be vocational in orientation and provide its students with social, economic, and political facts related to their lives and employment now and in the future. It must offer equal opportunity to consider and select training for either rural or urban occupations. In order to offer this diversity, a college must have a…

San Miguel County, one of the larger, older, and more predominantly Spanish American counties in New Mexico, is located in the north central section of the State. Marked by varied topographical and climatic characteristics, the county was once one of the more prosperous and densely populated areas of the State. Today it suffers from high rates of…

The nations of the capitalistic world devote a high percentage of their exports to trade with other nations in that group, while the underdeveloped nations send most of their exports to the capitalistic nations. The low wages in underdeveloped countries are critical for the maintenance of their position as dominated, for these low wages allow the…