Survey of 427 residents (both blacks and whites) of six rural Florida counties near Apalachicola National Forest found that blacks visited wildlands less and had less favorable definitions of wildlands, compared to whites. Differences in meanings attached to wildlands explained racial differences in wildland visitation. Sex and age also predicted…

Challenges representations of rural communities as inclusive, closer to nature, and therefore ideal places for youth to grow up and of urban areas as alienating and distanced from nature. Presents findings from rural and urban case studies focusing on young people's experiences of public space. Examines how youth describe the sites where they…

Surveyed public school counselors (N=338) in Maine to determine effect of rural setting on school counselors. Found that counselors in rural districts perceived their relationships with their administrators in significantly more positive manner than did counselors in nonrural settings. Rural counselors found adequacy and availability of referral…

Surveyed 166 child protection workers in rural Montana to determine the extent and nature of threats and actual violence they are subject to during the course of their duties. Found that 10% of workers had been pushed, shoved, or hit by clients in the previous year and that 33% received death threats from clients. (MDM)

Describes the experiences of one teacher-consultant who was sent to conduct inservice workshops for English teachers in a rural environment. Considers the nature of the word "rural" and the kinds of problems encountered in rural settings. (HB)

Noting that there are no standardized manual communication curricula or proficiency assessments available to teacher preparation programs, the author used a case study to describe how preservice teachers of the deaf are taught to incorporate American Sign Language and various forms of signed English as effective communication tools for students…

This article is a summary of the findings of a research project that included ten older rural adults from a county in south Georgia. The research focused on self-directed learning. The researcher conducted two interviews with each participant over a two day period. The findings focused around four research questions: what is the nature of…

This study examined the relation between mothers' epistemological perspectives and their use of communication strategies with their children. A total of 47 mothers raising young children in rural and social isolation and economic poverty participated. The Ways of Knowing interview was used to assess mothers' epistemological assumptions.…

For the past 10 summers a rural Ohio farm family, convinced of the merits of involving children in farm experiences and/or plant and animal care, has shared its farmstead with approximately 3,000 urban elementary school children. This paper discusses the impact of farm experiences on children's development, exploring rural community life among the…

Ten American artists were commissioned in 1975 to produce sculptures as rest stops along the Nebraska stretch of Interstate-80 in celebration of the American Bicentennial. The ten commissioned sculptures were selected through a national juried competition that drew 121 initial entries at a cost of $500,000. Despite initial controversy centering…

Discusses a 4-C program which used a traveling workshop to bring in-service training to day care personnel in rural communities. (ST)

ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SCHOOL SITUATION IN PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, VIRGINIA, WERE PRESENTED. WHY WERE PUBLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED AND HOW DID THE CLOSING COME ABOUT. WHAT KIND OF LOCALITY WAS THIS WHICH WOULD RESORT TO SUCH AN EXTRAORDINARY MEASURE. WHAT GENERALLY WERE THE ATTITUDES AND ARGUMENTS UNDERLYING THE ISSUE. WHAT…

An experimental program is described which was designed to train non-urban housewives for paid employment as paraprofessional peer counselors. A flow chart traces the origin of the project back to 1969, when the future project director recognized the mental health needs of a variety of non-urban housewives of all ages. The resulting peer counselor…

The 5-year project reported in this paper sought initially to examine the home environments both of isolated, intact rural white families and of single parent AFDC Negro families. The information thus gathered was to be compared to what is known about middle class white families in hopes of isolating the differences that result in the poorer…

Describes how children in rural Venezuela are trained in agricultural skills by the extended family. The highly organized training encourages play and exploration as important elements in familiarzing children with implements and methods of food production. It is suggested that rural school planners draw ideas from the rural family's educative…