This study examined community leadership education programs employed in rural communities and organizations of several states to empower both local leaders and residents. In particular, the study investigated the relationships between community leadership education program design and structure (contact hours and content) and six outcome indices of…

The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is one of four centers in the United States that work to improve opportunities and quality of life in rural communities. With funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the land-grant universities in its 12-state region, the NCRCRD engages Extension…

The Home Education Livelihood Program, Inc. (HELP) has been involved in the creation of new mechanisms designed to improve the quality of life in the rural towns, villages, and small cities of New Mexico. HELP assists in the physical, human, and economic development, and provides a multitude of socioeconomic services to such rural residents as…

Presenting a base of general information that local business people and government officials involved with downtown revitalization should be familiar with in order to understand the range of options available and factors that will influence the outcomes of any revitalization program, the paper summarizes current theories, trends, studies, and…

As the second annual report on policies and programs designed to improve the quality of life in U.S. rural and nonmetropolitan regions, this report: (1) presents tentative qualitative goal statements; (2) sets forth results-oriented quantitative goals for programs funded under provisions of the Rural Development Act of 1972; (3) describes the…

The New Rural Society Concept, which urges establishment of a more balanced rural-urban population distribution in response to the interdependent rural-urban energy crisis, is explicated in this report on a model project initiated in 1972 in 10 northeastern Connecticut townships. The following are cited as major project objectives: (1) to obtain…

The approach to improving the socioeconomic condition of women in rural Morocco is based on the premise that the family is the key social unit. Women, as the effective pillars of that unit, will automatically benefit from government sponsored family programs. The Moroccan woman's access to food, water, fuel, medical care, personal safety, and rest…

The purpose of the document is to (1) define the meaning of development education in a United States context, (2) describe formal and nonformal development activities in the United States, and (3) suggest steps that could be taken in the future to promote development education efforts in the United Staes. Development education is seen as both…

Project 2142 was a multi-phase effort to discover and mobilize for dissemination to rural decision-makers various information and findings pertaining to the quality of life experienced by rural people. The initial research phases involved design of a conceptual framework that placed some parameters on the variety of social phenomena studied.…

Three papers are included in this document designed to provide English language information about characteristics and activities of Accion Cultural Popular (ACPO) a private, nonprofit organization concerned with improving the quality of life of rural populations and promoting rural development through mass media education programs. "Pioneer…

The Carter Administration is adopting a Small Community and Rural Development Policy because: (1) rural America's human and natural resources are a mainstay of the nation's economy and way of life; (2) many rural areas are in the midst of significant economic and demographic change; (3) rural people and communities have greater unmet basic human…