Until recently, the South's economic growth was based on its ability to attract manufacturing jobs. Recent plant closings and layoffs were considered as cyclical effects of a recession, but recovery has not occurred and rural unemployment remains high. In the 1970s, the South was the only region to experience slower population growth in rural…

Reviews gradual transition of rural vocational education from agricultural to industrial model, responding to societal change. Examines rural vocational education participation and its responsiveness to changes in technology and labor demands. Examines secondary and two-year postsecondary vocational education models as ways to serve rural economic…

This analysis of employment patterns in the American South extends a 1985 report, "After the Factories: Changing Employment Patterns in the Rural South," which was based on the years between 1977-1982. The 1985 report included Texas, but this analysis includes only the 12 Southern Growth Policies Board (SGPB) member states. This new…

Rural conditions influence the implementation and effect of vocational education policies dealing with funding, accessibility, economics, and local values. By law funding formulas must consider two criteria: relative district wealth, often determined by property values, which have a low correlation to median family income; and concentration of…