In most debates about teaching, learning, and research, the spatial context of education is either taken for granted or ignored. But places can be viewed as more than empty frames for social action; they can be seen as both historically constituted by social processes and, in turn, constituting those social processes. This paper aims to restore a…

Describes a two-year nursing program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (Pennsylvania) that was developed 15 years ago to address the critical shortage of trained nurses in rural northern Pennsylvania. To date, the program has graduated 269 students, of which approximately 75% have taken jobs within the region. (LP)

A free university is defined as a community learning center that connects people who want to teach or learn with resources to meet their needs. The free university for Man, located at Kansas State University in Manhattan, is described. (MLW)

This report describes a preceptorship model that provides student nurses with clinical practice in rural health facilities. The development and implementation of a preceptorship model reflects a partnership between nursing education and nursing service--between the urban nursing school and the rural hospital. A five-stage preceptorship model is…

The term "higher education" should be redefined to give all grade levels and subjects equal educational value. This effort should involve the Appalachian Teachers' Network, which consists of a group of teachers from all grade levels working to make Appalachian Studies an integral part of education. At Radford University (Virginia) the…

The key to preparing today's teachers to carry out their professional responsibilities is not necessarily found in high-priced technologies, but rather in a new level of cooperation between universities and public schools and in new ways to deliver coursework. Indiana University offers inservice teacher education coursework through interactive…

The University of Washington has designed a rural track in its master's level training program in early childhood special education. This paper reports on the components of the training program and the results of the first two years of teacher preparation, including placement of trainees in rural practicum sites. (Author/JDD)

The University of South Carolina distance education program for preparation of personnel to educate visually handicapped people utilizes a video delivery system with a two-way audio talk-back system, teleconferencing, videocassettes, and alternative scheduling. Course descriptions and students' responses are described. (JDD)

A series of U.S. Department of Education grants has enabled the University of Kentucky to deliver a graduate program on low incidence disabilities to students in rural areas via distance education. In 1989, the initial Training Rural Educators in Kentucky (TREK) project involved physically moving coursework to rural London, Kentucky. In subsequent…

As the population of minority pupils continues to increase, the need for special education personnel to identify and educate culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional students will also rise. Continuing shortages of qualified personnel in special education have been declared a national emergency, with "diagnostic staff" ranked as…

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…

A program developed by George Peabody College (Tennessee) to increase the supply and quality of teachers of visually impaired children in rural areas involves recruiting regular and special education teachers currently residing in rural areas; restructuring class schedules to allow teachers to remain fully employed; and rural practicum experiences…

This document contains nine essays which provide guidelines and directions for implementing competency-based teacher education (CBTE) programs. Selections include the following: (a) "Characteristics of Competency-based Teacher Education Programs;" (b) "The Development of a Comprehensive Competency-Based Teacher Education Program: A Model for…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant for a 5-year program designed to encourage college aspirations and preparation among disadvantaged rural youth. During the first 2 years, parents and students in nine counties were surveyed to determine their…

This paper describes a summer institute on poverty offered for graduate degree credit through Western Carolina University. The institute targeted western North Carolina educators by inviting 18 regional school districts to sponsor one participant each. Speaker and seminar topics centered on the nature of poverty, its pervasiveness, its…