Trinity University education majors visited rural mountain schools in North Carolina, finding evidence that countered their stereotypes of the conditions of, family involvement in, and attitudes about education in rural communities. Ways to improve the educational environment through distance education and reduction of inequities were suggested.…

Describes Learn Alaska, an electronic educational system run jointly by the University of Alaska and the state Department of Education. Explains use of teleconferencing, videotex, teletext, and software teledelivery. (JM)

Condon, a community of approximately 950 people in central Oregon, opened its high school to 15 undergraduate secondary education students from the University of Oregon and provided them with perhaps the richest experience of their preprofessional training. (Author/BR)

Describes the economic, demographic, social, and emotional status of rural Americans at the end of the twentieth century, noting accelerating forces that are changing the nature of that sector. The article looks at what the future holds for the 6.6 million students who attend rural schools. (SM)

Explores Wendell Berry's social philosophy in the context of the larger framework of liberalism and democratic theory, addressing implications for reconceptualizing rural schooling. The article exposes the benefits rural schools could tap by fostering a critical literacy based on local knowledge. (SM)

Surveys the history of education in Mexico, examining Aztec, colonial, and post-colonial education and education in the nationalistic or modern period. Describes the organization of schools, and discusses the continuing problem of rural education. Looks at teacher education and higher education, and outlines learning theories predominant in…

Interviews children and adults living in rural areas in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India regarding education, revealing individuals' hopes and dreams against a backdrop of severe class, caste, and gender stratification. Examines the promise of schooling and literacy in India, the relationship of schooling and literacy to work, and of…

Africa was unable to fulfill the objectives of making compulsory primary education available for all by 1980. As a result, the Harare (Zimbabwe) Declaration, signed by ministers of the United Nations members states of Africa in 1982, aimed to make primary schooling universal and to promote literacy among young people and adults on a massive scale.…

This report synthesizes the experience-based ideas that emerged from small group interaction at the 16th annual Montana Rural Education Conference, which focused on the pros and cons of school district consolidation. Conferees first heard from panelists and speakers expressing a spectrum of positive and negative positions on the consolidation…

A federally sponsored project called ACCESS is described, which is designed to help rural high school students in 27 counties of northwest Missouri obtain skills needed to attend college or trade school and then return to work in their communities. (MLW)

The eradication of illiteracy in Russia has a lengthy history but a systematic literacy campaign began only after the revolution of 1917. The literacy problem was considered to be solved two decades later. Success was due to the following factors: (1) illiterate people were eager to learn; (2) the eradication of illiteracy and preparation for…

The overall illiteracy rate has been in sharp decline in Latin America, falling from 27.3 percent in 1970 to 17.3 percent in 1985. However, the total number of illiterate people has remained practically stable over the same period. Overall literacy rates tend to increase with the rurality of the population, the proportion of women, the absence of…

The national language of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia, although there are hundreds of languages and dialects spoken by different ethnic groups. In 1977, more than 26 million Indonesians were illiterate in their national language. Present efforts to eradicate illiteracy include construction of 10,000-15,000 primary schools annually since 1973 and…

The challenge of "ruralizing" teacher preparation programs is to teach teachers to think with sufficient critical intent to violate professional norms that have been unhealthy for rural schools and communities. Universities are institutions with cosmopolitan rather than local purposes. Over the centuries, the mission of higher education…

This paper demonstrates how jointly planned activities can provide an integrated system in bridging the quality gap between urban and rural education in Australia. A national communications policy and delivery system would provide a cost-effective way of improving services to rural areas. Rural schools and colleges can be transformed by developing…