Social scientific research has demonstrated that increasing racial or ethnic diversity can reduce overall levels of social solidarity in a community. Yet many community development organizations, including Extension, are deeply committed to creating a broader sense of cohesion in rural communities. This article highlights a recent interagency…

Rural communities have fewer financial resources, making the community colleges located in these regions central to economic development. This chapter reviews the importance of recognizing the rural differential via policy changes and offers strategies to close the resource gap between rural and nonrural community colleges.

A national sample of 305 rural development administrators was used to define "green" rural development officials (GRDOs). GRDOs were found to possess strong environmental attitudes in three areas: (1) rural environmental problems; (2) environmental policy options; and (3) environmental policy considerations. (JOW)

Analysis of survey data from 539 community leaders in 120 rural Pennsylvania school districts found that, when the effects of need and socioeconomic and ecological characteristics were controlled, past community action and community solidarity had significant effects on adoption of various local economic development strategies. (TD)

There was a notable transition in the nature, content, and administration of rural policies in many developed nations in the 1980s and 1990s. These changes concerned issues of governance and institutional framework, the definition of "development," and policy goals and content. A key question, however, concerns the extent to which shifts…

Describes current changes in rural transportation services. Describes general thrust of innovative efforts to provide rural passenger transportation despite declining resources. Describes public-private transportation cooperation, human-service agency coordination, linking state and local bus services, mixed passenger-package functions, community…

A combined report of the four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) and their partners focuses on selected outreach and research activities, projects, and accomplishments in fiscal year 1997. The report is organized around five topics identified as key issues for the mid 1990s: (1) improving economic competitiveness, diversity, and…

Describes the role of the rural community development worker in achieving social change by encouraging participatory decision making. Presents results of a participatory research study in which the author, as a community worker, empowers a village with a failed water supply to seek change where they had previously experienced resistance by…

Grassroots efforts were examined through a survey of 103 self-development projects across the United States, enriched by an indepth study of 8 successful and unsuccessful cases. They were as follows: Revolving Loan Fund, Mankato, Kansas; Orofino Unlimited, Orofino, Idaho; Center for Industry, Rome, Georgia; Windmill Market Farm and Craft Co-op,…

A study examined efforts to promote community-based economic development in 103 communities that adopted self-development strategies involving local governments working with other public and private entities providing employment, income, and services to local communities. Based on data collected from these communities, the study evaluated how and…

Issues clarification, skills and techniques, and methods and strategy in Extension public policy education were the themes of the conference. The first keynote speaker, R.J. Hildreth, justified public policy education by home economist and community resource development educators. The second keynote speaker, J.B. Wyckoff, described the function of…

In October 1999, the Regional Australia Summit was held in Canberra to allow people from regional, rural, and remote areas to contribute their perspectives on the challenges facing rural Australia. The Summit aimed to develop a national appreciation of those challenges, gather ideas on meeting the challenges, establish goals, and identify roles…

There are clear signs that community learning is the way to a more sustainable future for Australian communities, especially rural ones. There are also indications that policymakers now recognize that the people who live in communities should play an important role in determining the future of their own communities. Policy must use the best…

Discusses implications of population turnaround, reverse migration for societal polarization, human resources based economy, and rural/urban segmentation on the new socioeconomic role of rural areas. Identifies an interrelated public policy model composed of local community, human resources, technical inputs, and integrating institutions to…

More than 30 years after the Great Society initiatives, poverty continues to put large numbers of students at risk of school failure. The challenges to education and life success are most severe for children in the nation's poorest rural counties, the 535 rural persistent poverty (RPP) counties. This digest provides background on RPP counties and…