This study examines the impacts of Chicago's Universal Pre-K (UPK) expansion on the operational dynamics of preschools across setting types from the perspective of administrators. Specifically, we explore how Chicago Public Schools (CPS) principals and and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) directors experienced the implementation of UPK.…

Provides a personal account of the author's grade school years in the Independence School in Colorado. (AH)

This paper reviews selected research studies of multigrade classrooms in Canada, Finland, eight developing nations (India, Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia), and the United States. Based on information about the perceptions of multigrade instruction of principals and teachers, the following issues are…

To be financially viable, Catholic elementary schools with enrollments of under 100 students need to recognize their smallness and seek structures and methods appropriate to their size. This book addresses the needs of very small schools with current or potential multigrade classrooms, and describes organizational and instructional approaches…

Parents and community members must be educated to understand nongraded primary education and how primary age children need to be schooled in order to provide the best education. The larger school community should play a significant role in developing and implementing nongraded plans. Schools must encourage parents and community volunteers to…

This paper reports a study of curriculum and teaching methods in 10 Old Order Mennonite one-room schools in Pennsylvania. It provides a review of the historical background and cultural characteristics of the Old Order Mennonites. The one-room schools examined in the study are similar in structure and instruction to U.S. public one-room schools of…

A final-year student teacher from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) describes her student teaching experiences in a one-room school in the isolated town of Birdsville, focusing on the harsh natural environment, the demands of a multiage classroom, and positive attributes of the small school and community involvement. (SV)

A final-year student teacher from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) describes her student teaching experiences at Gunpowder State School, an isolated one-room school in central Queensland, focusing on techniques for managing the multiage classroom and teacher-community relationships. (SV)

As part of an international comparative study of active learning in seven countries, a case study examined active learning practices of students and teachers in a small rural school in Finland. Small schools have traditionally existed in the sparsely populated Finnish countryside, and 60 percent of Finnish elementary schools have 1-3 teachers.…

This book provides information and guidance to rural community members for improving their schools through community involvement. It encourages new ways of thinking about the purposes of education, the roles of schools, and methods of teaching and learning. After establishing the purpose and need for community involvement in rural small schools,…

This handbook addresses the provision of an equitable basic education in rural areas, particularly in developing countries, by means of small schools located close to the pupils' homes. It is based on beliefs that small schools can be good schools; the appropriate place for a small school and its teachers is within the community; and small schools…

This book compares small schools in various countries with large ones and offers cost effective strategies for small schools. Part I focuses on social, economic, and educational issues related to small schools. Small schools are beneficial to their communities as centers of social development. In addition, small schools have a more cooperative…

The TeleLearning and Rural Education Centre was established in January 1997 at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in one of the most sparsely populated and economically depressed areas of Canada. Of 462 schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, 66 percent are rural and over half have enrollments of under 200 students. The Centre was established to…

An essential part of establishing Project LEM (Learning Experience Module), a program designed for multiage groupings in open-space schools, was the development of a multifaceted informational approach to help assure that facts replaced rumors and enthusiasm replaced parental anxiety. The LEM staff believes that good public relations call for…

This work examines ways central and regional education ministries can influence practices at the school level. Chapter 1, "Changing What Happens in Schools: Central-Level Initiatives to Improve School Practice," reviews common themes, concerns, problems, and emphases. Chapter 2, "Knowledge Utilization and the Process of Policy…