This study investigates school choice in a gentrified urban context and examines the ways in which school choice as rhetoric creates false perceptions, how school-choice policies can betray the very principle they espouse, and how choice (while sought after by many) can undermine community. As school choice continues to expand and gain traction…

During 2004, the School of Education at the University of Ulster embarked on an innovative three-year project designed to embed community relations objectives within initial teacher education. With the advent of more peaceful times in Northern Ireland, this was a precipitous time for initial teacher educators to review the preparation given to…

This critical reflection addresses the role of the Christian Church in tackling educational underachievement and poverty in the inner city. The Church has traditionally expressed a commitment to meeting the needs of the poor, and has exerted a significant influence on education over many years. However, there is a notable lack of guidance and…

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a synchronistic set of events and relationships generated a new kind of experiential learning in communities across Mississippi. Educators based at the University of Mississippi, community-based educators, social justice advocates, and funders collaborated to provide the resources and opportunities for…

The concept of community cohesion is explored with respect to material requisites and social networks. Community cohesion is viewed as a valuable human resource which is threatened and merits efforts at preservation by public and private sectors. (CT)

This paper examines both the out-migration of non-Hispanic Whites and the in-migration of Latinos in rural California, to better understand the relationship between ethnicity and the well-being of California's rural communities. Theoretical explanations for ethnic transformation and community well-being focus on agricultural and industrial…

Discusses academic discourses of "rural,""sustainability," and "community" and approaches to these concepts in New Zealand government policy. Examines social sustainability issues in the Mangakahia Valley, New Zealand: urban-rural migration of "lifestyle" newcomers and Maori returning to ancestral lands,…

In a small Illinois town experiencing immigration of working-poor families, the differing notions about respectability of newcomers and the old guard became symbolized by conflict over the appearance and use of private and public property. Concludes that property issues, more than occupation or family background, shape social relations in…

In three rural Nebraska communities experiencing rising inmigration of Hispanic families, newcomers and long-term residents were interviewed concerning personal financial strain; concerns with community issues such as language barriers and interethnic conflict; nutritional habits; and access to health care, education and training, and social…

Findings of a study that examined the effect of school board administrative change strategies on the degree of community opposition to school closing decisions are presented in this paper. The study is based on Kotter and Schlesinger's (1974) conceptual model that identifies six effective change strategies: education and communication,…

A community survey examined socioeconomic characteristics and community participation patterns in a rural Canadian area in which recreational cottages were being converted to full-time homes by urban retirees. Compared to long-time residents, "converters" were more likely to be older and more educated, to have no children at home, and to…

Census data were used to test various hypotheses about growing Latino concentration and economic deterioration in rural California communities and found factors related to both Latino inmigration and White outmigration. Public policy implications are discussed relative to improving ethnic relations and building human capital to support economic…

This paper summarizes a 22-month ethnographic study of rural Shandon (California), a community that demonstrates the social and demographic changes resulting from agricultural intensification in rural California. Changes in the Shandon area's agricultural production have produced a demographic shift from the homogeneous Anglo-American farming and…

The Pittsburgh Goals Study about which this speech centers is SO 004 019. Issues identified by the leaders questioned which seem particularly crucial for the next five years in the development of Pittsburgh are: pollution control; public welfare system; drug problem; health services; low cost housing; rapid transit. Two more issues, Metropolitan…

In rural Llanrwst, north Wales, concepts of "traditional community" and local Welsh culture are felt to be threatened by inmigration of "English" outsiders. Interviews with secondary school students illustrate how cultural boundaries are reinforced by school structures and student behaviors and how cultural belonging is…