Recent media reporting and research suggest that regional comprehensive universities (RCUs) and other postsecondary institutions may play an integral role in the welfare of rural regions, yet empirical research on the regional service of rural postsecondary institutions is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine how a single RCU serves…

This concluding volume in the series presents the work of faculty who have been moved to make sustainability the focus of their work, and to use service learning as one method of teaching sustainability to their students. The chapters in the opening section of this book-- Environmental Awareness--offer models for opening students to the awareness…

Purpose: To examine the role of power in interactive policymaking settings. Design/Methodology/Approach: A literature study is combined with four case studies relating to citizen participation in natural resource management and rural development in the Netherlands. Findings: Many of the identified problems and dilemmas of interactive policymaking…

Considerable importance is attached to social exclusion/inclusion in recent EU rural development programmes. At the national/regional operation of these programmes groups of people who are not participating are often identified as "socially excluded groups". This article contends that rural development programmes are misinterpreting the…

This paper considers the important issue of women's economic participation in rural community development and regeneration. The paper explores the economic lives and actions of women residents in ''Ilston'', a village in the Northumberland Rural Coalfield. The women's narratives illustrate the economic connections between private and public…

This report is a summary of discussions that took place at the "Sound Off" Regional Rural Youth Dialogue on Employment, Education and Communication, held in Vernon, British Columbia, on January 14, 2006. This event was part of the Rural Dialogue, an ongoing, two-way discussion between the Government of Canada and Canadians from rural,…

In 1994 the Ford Foundation launched the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) as a "national demonstration project to help community colleges in distressed regions move their people and communities toward prosperity. It challenged community colleges to become catalysts for economic development and supported aggressive efforts to increase…

Available data and selected literature were examined to identify key questions to guide future research and practice in community leadership development. Questions pertaining to (1) how programs influence participation in public affairs, (2) institutional advocacy in public affairs education, and (3) the design of rural and agricultural leadership…

Two problem identification surveys conducted to support Extension Community and Resource Development programs in South Carolina's rural Williamsburg County focused on some implications for citizen involvement in public decision making, specifically in rural community development. A 1975 survey of 41 leaders and 1976 citizen survey of 214 rural…

Examines indigenous capacity for local community development. Examines new economic development initiatives by communities, nature of relationships between local and larger economies, and how relationships affect local capacity for new economic activities. Discusses benefits of spatial framework in rural development and planning. (TES)

Describes study that was conducted to determine which conditions are most likely to encourage individuals to participate in non-formal education (NFE) programs in developing countries. Use of the Delphi Technique is explained, and a listing that ranks the conditions in order of importance is provided. (15 references) (LRW)

Aurora, a village of 147 residents in north central Kansas, was the focus of a 1978 investigation of the community development potential for Kansas rural villages. Students and staff from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare worked with community residents to identify three programs the village wanted (a recreation program, a…

A survey of rural-to-urban migrants in Nigeria found that 58.2 percent contributed financially to community development projects in their areas of origin. Concludes that rural out-migration is encouraged by rural inhabitants to combat poverty and suggests government policies to encourage further migrant involvement. (FMW)

The authors describe an experimental 3-year project of the Thailand Ministry of Education's Nonformal Education Department. The project features decentralization and local participation in the integration of government services to villages. Results indicate that the methods used produce better than average participation and more benefits to…

Citizen participation may be defined as consisting of voluntary activities undertaken by persons in their roles as ordinary citizens, or amateurs, to influence public decisions or the actions of public officials. Citizen participation is the latest mechanism of a democratic people for dealing with "big government" and making it accountable.…