The rural economy has performed badly during the 1980s. While the recession of the early 1980s was responsible for much of the trouble, the slow rural recovery demonstrates the fundamental hurdles facing the rural economy. Central among these are economic disadvantages, including remote locations isolating rural producers from their markets, low…

This case study examines the interaction between basic education (primary education, adult literacy, and nonformal adult education) and economic development needs in rural Zhuji County, Zhejiang Province, located in southeast China. In Zhuji, parents traditionally have endured hardships to send their children to school and otherwise encouraged…

Great changes are occurring in the vast and extremely diverse nonmetropolitan regions of the United States as a result of economic and social shifts taking place. These are not the only issues facing state and local education policy and planning communities. Nationwide focus on the school reform and school excellence movement poses another serious…

On every continent and in virtually every sovereign nation, rural people are not nearly as well served by educational programs as their fellow countrymen who reside in urban centers. Those persons in governmental agencies who seek solutions to the problems of rural education are confronted by scattered student populations, hostile geography,…

Despite their significant role in African economies, women are still the victims of poverty, illiteracy, discrimination, and powerlessness. Most African countries are classified as "low" on the Human Development Index and exhibit a relationship between per capita gross domestic product and the adult literacy rate. Rural women appear to…

The number of entrants to the labor market today in most sub-Sahara African countries far exceeds the number of new jobs generated by the economy. This mismatch is one of the most serious problems the region faces. With too few jobs to go around, vocational training should focus on the generation of self-employment possibilities. In the mid-1970s…

Despite the current attention directed at rural education, rural minority youth may be in some danger of becoming invisible. A lack of specific and detailed knowledge of minority conditions and potential opportunities at regional, sub-regional, state, and local levels has inhibited the development of sound programs and policies for the redress of…

New York State's rural educational institutions offer opportunities needed by the state but their potentials go unrecognized by educational policymakers. Rural colleges, secondary schools, and Boards of Educational Services (BOCES) are funded at a lower level than urban counterparts at a time when most rural areas are experiencing population…

The problem of rural education, specifically in the south, is not a single problem, but a set of related problems. This paper summarizes the historical perspective of education's importance in the rural South and the attitudes of the general populace. Illiteracy, dropout rates, and the need to retrain workers losing jobs in agriculture and…

This report summarizes a study examining the current conditions and unique nature of rural schools in Kansas. The purpose of the study was to identify problems that could be addressed through educational policy and state legislation. A literature review reports on the distinctive nature of rural life, factors leading up to school consolidation,…

Historically, urban and suburban interests have dominated educational policy at the national level, but recognition of the need for federal rural education policy is growing. Effective educational policy for rural people, who account for one-third of the U. S. population, must consider the distinctive characteristics of rural areas. Vast cultural…