A specialized curriculum focusing on interrelationships of rural resident, the land, and small community and offering an alternative to urban-based literature could include units on American folklore, fictional accounts of early settlement, displaced Americans, small community life, the ecology issue, the individual-land relationship, historical…

This paper examines social and economic forces affecting rural areas at the beginning of the 21st century and lists potential strategies to cope with those concerns. Rural development is necessary to place rural and urban areas on a more equal footing, compensate for the youth "brain drain," preserve the retirement-option value, relieve…

Examines oral cultures in a world of literacy, assessment, and certification. Explores the oral youth culture of adolescent males in rural Jamaica. Utilizes an interactional sociolinguistical approach to document the young males sense-making strategies, which bypass scripted literacy as a means for learning and concentrates on oral and visual…

This discussion of the importance of library-administered readership promotion campaigns in the traditionally oral societies of Nigeria discusses influential familial, social, cultural, and economic factors that need to be considered in establishing reading programs for rural communities. The role of state library boards, staffing and financial…

This book considers how children form connections with the natural world, and questions what may happen to children denied exposure to wild places--a reality for many children today. Two men draw on memories of their own childhoods and on their experiences as naturalists and as fathers to tell stories of children learning about wild places and…

A review of the existing literature on preparation of rural teaching personnel focuses on the problems of education and specifically, special education, in rural areas and reports various solutions to those problems. Characteristics of many rural areas (such as high non-enrollment rates, rising service costs, resistance to outside interference,…

Arkansas has a small, rural, undereducated population; few people move either in or out. Youth poverty is a major state problem, affecting the white and black and the rural and urban residents alike. The state's economy needs more diversification as there is little activity in the well-paying end of the service sector at the present; however,…

Participants in a symposium concerned with issues affecting rural New York State identified strengths and weaknesses and suggested policy in relation to three broad goals in the area of human services and community life: (1) increase community awareness of problems affecting rural localities, including the causes and effects of crime, violence,…

Thirteen papers on Kansas and Johnson County, Kansas history are presented. The papers were written by students in a course at the Johnson County Center for Local History or for independent study in local history. The papers are: "Conditions and Construction of Gardner Lake"; "The History of St. Joseph's Church, Shawnee,…

Two areas--understanding what rural education is and what its real needs are--are critical in preparing educators, specifically language arts educators, for a rural setting. Although the problems facing these teachers are many, minimal preparation and training at the college level deal with the rural setting. Mainly due to funding, modern…

While there is a natural fit between rural communities and a particular kind of social work practice, it is not the prevailing form of practice in rural communities. The rural practice model should be generic rather than specialized, should recognize the utility of natural helping networks and build on them, and should work through community…

This monograph synthesizes and summarizes current ideas and actions concerning teacher-community linkages. Its main emphasis is on developing countries, where primary and lower secondary schools are major policy tools in the drive for national and economic development and where most people live and will continue to live in rural areas. Based on an…

In spite of the popular misconception of life in rural England as a rustic idyll, social and economic conditions there have created many issues which result in deprivation for rural youth. The major issues which affect employment, schooling, social, and domestic situations for rural youth are: (1) accessibility--lack of transportation; (2)…

The monograph is an attempt to describe conditions existing today in rural America that can affect the operation and impact of vocational education in rural areas and, thus, should exercise an influence on policy making. It identifies statistical patterns and characteristics common to rural areas, both within regions and those that cut across…

Although there are no easy answers to the economic problems faced by the Northern Cheyenne in Southeast Montana, any economic development plans should stress long-term tribal self-sufficiency, serve community needs, and consider the Cheyenne culture. Differentiation theory is appropriate for understanding the local rural area and the special place…