Thirty-three member schools of the Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools cooperated in the creation of six school networks that participated in a series of electronic "field trips" for rural students. The field trips were actually conference telephone calls that allowed students and teachers to talk with experts in areas such as…

The papers presented in this paper accompany a core report about the Appalachian Math Science Partnership (AMSP) entitled "The Appalachian Math Science Partnership: A Multi-State Umbrella Partnership Promoting Local Mathematics and Science Reform Report." Each of them focuses on an especially effective strategy or component of the AMSP…

Rural adult education projects using television in Tanzania, the Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala are described and compared with special attention given to objectives, organization, selection and recruitment of supervisors, monitors and participants, use of communication media, feedback and evaluation systems impact, and…

Teachers and administrators from three rural impoverished school districts in South Carolina, together with consultants and the principal investigator from Clemson University, identified seven requisite qualities of teachers: knowledge, instructional management, classroom management, communications skills, planning ability, professional qualities,…

A discussion is provided of the ways in which audio teleconferencing can provide instruction to students in rural areas using the regular telephone network. After introductory material describes the benefits of audio teleconferencing (e.g., its low costs, familiar technology, and wide availability), a technical description of its operation is…

The Appalachian Math Science Partnership (AMSP) is a project within NSF's (National Science Foundation's) Math Science Partnerships (MSP) initiative. Funded at $23 million over five years, the AMSP involved 51 school districts and nine higher education institutions in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The AMSP faced two significant challenges in…

This paper examines primary issues influencing rural educational cooperatives. The paper highlights the benefits of rural cooperative formation and outlines the key points in creating effective rural interdistrict cooperatives. It is directed toward those who are interested in policy issues surrounding cooperative development and maintenance. The…

A 5-phase plan was initiated in New York's Schuyler County to develop a Community Resources Development (CRD) program which would bring about communication, educate citizens, and build leadership. This was a joint effort involving county citizens and organizations, a county extension agent, a regional CRD specialist, the resources at both the land…

The Rural Early Intervention Training Project in Oregon is designed to meet the need for rural early intervention personnel. The program reflects a focus on technical skills, critical thinking, and reflective practice. University professors travel to a designated rural community to conduct coursework each month, and a practicum supervisor observes…

This report examines critical issues that rural educators face in establishing preschool programs. Even Start is a federal program designed to meet the educational needs of preschool children who have under-educated parents. In addition to participating in their child's education, the program requires parents to enroll in educational or vocational…

A study was conducted in Alberta (Canada) to determine the feasibility of using mobile industrial education and home economics laboratories to provide on-site instructional facilities for junior high schools that do not have sufficient populations to warrant the construction of more permanent laboratories. Information was sought on the flexibility…

This paper describes formative evaluation procedures of a collaborative program developed by the University of Georgia's Rural Revitalization Initiative. The initiative represents a collaboration of units at the university and among local people from several different areas and disciplines. Twelve Georgia counties participated in the project,…

The traditional method of conducting evaluation studies of agricultural extension programs is not sufficient when evaluating the impact on rural development, and must, therefore, be complemented by qualitative studies and careful evaluations of program objectives based on farmer needs. Traditional experimental evaluation studies do not register…

This report describes the Managing Occupational Therapy in Rural Education (MORE) a project that is designing a preservice training curriculum for occupational therapy students preparing to work in rural settings. Therapists need to have an understanding of rural school systems, educational aims, philosophy, and the structure of the system itself…

The itinerant secondary remedial resource teacher service, designed to identify and help isolated country students in Queensland who are experiencing learning difficulties and to assist teachers in classrooms, program development, and resource strategy for exceptional learners, was evaluated seven months after project initiation in 1979. Data for…