This study aims to investigate the effect of age and urban and rural living environments on children's actual and perceived motor competence. To that end, 320 female students aged 8-12 years were selected through random cluster sampling. The perceived motor competence of the participants was assessed using Marsh's Physical Self-Description…

Explores ideas about the causes and consequences of urban and rural air pollution of secondary school students aged 11-16 years (n=786) using a questionnaire. Students thought the air in towns and cities was more polluted than the air in the countryside. (Author/SAH)

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…

Presents a factor analysis of the psychological constructs of "ruralness" and "urbanness" of place and person using university student survey. Found that population and physical environment account for perceived ruralness of place, but did not identify factors that account for ruralness of person. Includes three tables and references. (Author/TES)

Rurality has often been equated as to being backwards and non-promising to provide for a bright future. This study aims to identify the levels of self-concept, family concept, and family interaction measures of subjects from the rural and urban social settings of a state in Malaysia. Six hundred and thirty-nine (or two hundred and thirteen…

Using data from the High School and Beyond longitudinal study, the relationships among gender and rural, suburban, or urban setting and academic ability were examined. Data reflect the population of high school sophomores and seniors in 1980. When the influence of socioeconomic status was controlled, gender and setting each explained little or no…

The cultural environment as a major factor influencing reading achievement in primary schools is discussed. It is proposed that money be spent by Nigeria to improve the social and cultural environment of young beginning readers in rural areas to equalize their learning situations. The questionnaire is appended. (MLW)

In a colonia in the border town of Nogales (Sonora, Mexico), a geographer gave cameras to children and asked them to tell about where they live. Reflects on the impact of globalization on these children and their environment, their experience of environmental education, and their attitudes toward the polluted environment of their neighborhood and…

This study examined attitudes of prospective special educators regarding urban, suburban, and rural teaching environments. A total of 588 student members of the Council for Exceptional Children representing 49 universities were surveyed. The questionnaire, composed of 67 questions, examined student reasons for being in special education. It also…

A study to determine the health status of older persons and to analyze the support provided to them by community health and social service agencies in Ohio is reported. As a cooperative effort of the Gerontology Program and the Medical College at Bowling Green University, the project specifically sought to conduct a health needs assessment of…

The effects on students' vocational aspirations because of the ecological differences that exist between urban and rural areas in developing countries are discussed. The results of a study of secondary students showed rural students were inferior in their levels of vocational aspiration, found job information more difficult to get, etc.…

A controlled study involving 60 randomly selected 4- to 5-year-old children from Guyana (South America) assessed whether providing the opportunity for fantasy play to children in nursery schools that do not provide such opportunity would have an effect on the children's level of symbolic, language, and cognitive ability. Subjects included 20…

Describes a study in Nigeria comparing achievement in biology with a student's preference for cooperative or competitive learning situations. Proposes that rural children prefer cooperative learning strategies while urban children prefer competitive ones. Presents data proposing that learning preference (cooperative vs competitive) directly…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cross-site case study of four CBPR partnerships in the United States that researched environmental health problems and worked to educate legislators and promote relevant public policy. The…

Existing data bearing on the relationship between residence and concern with environmental quality are rather ambiguous. A careful examination of all known studies of the residence-environmental concern relationship clarifies the existing ambiguity: studies which have focused on environmental problems at the state or national level seldom find a…