Rurality is an active agent and central to the lived experiences of children growing up on a farm and attending a farm school. It is a key to their everyday experiences, and influences family life, schooling and their future. Previous studies elsewhere in the world have explored the notion of childhood in rural contexts, but there is a dearth of…

Purpose: The article explores the significance of "evaluation" in the delivery of multifunctional extension advisory programmes and argues the necessity of integrating evaluation into programme planning, to ensure that programme guidelines are adhered to and extension advisory programmes generate their desired impact. The article focuses…

Educational achievement in rural America is one of the country's great overlooked challenges. Rural students achieve below the U.S. average on national tests, and high school dropout rates are higher and college attendance lower than they are in cities and suburbs. When the U.S. Department of Education asks low-achieving schools to be turned…

An explanation is presented about what keeps young men in isolated rural areas. The purpose is to contribute a concrete analysis of habitus as used in educational research. Inadequacies in application of the term are demonstrated in research conducted on school and work by the author in a rural town. An analysis of changes from labour-intensive…

The author reminisces about her aunt Stella Bolstridge (1894-1989), who came from a large poor family in rural Maine, yet completed high school and nurses' training, served as an Army nurse in France during World War I, and became a lifelong advocate of women's education and women's rights. (SV)

Examines why the influence of the Danish folk high school grew in importance in rural Canada. (Author/DN)

Unless disparities in education are addressed, market-oriented reforms in Vietnam will generate inequitable agricultural growth. It is argued that if the marginal gains from investment in physical capital depend positively on knowledge, but a household cannot hire skilled labor to compensate for low skills, then even if it has access to credit,…

Have village schools a future? What effect does their closure have on the rest of village life? Author looks at some attempts by teachers and parents in Norfolk to save their threatened schools. (Editor/RK)

Restructuring of U.S. agriculture ("neoindustrialization") is having important effects on rural residents, requiring adaptations of supporting institutions such as education. Neoindustrialization involves concentration, specialization, and vertical and horizontal integration of agricultural production and marketing, as well as further…

Selected excerpts from books and poetry portray life in rural communities, the role of country schools, and the demands of farm life. These excerpts depict a nostalgic view of rural life that does not account for the current decline of rural communities. A move away from this stereotypical view is necessary to adapt to social change and preserve…

In the last 20 years, progress has been evident in the increase of enrollment in all stages of education in Asia. Tremendous efforts have been made to provide primary education for the remotest villages in the Asian communities. However, the concept that primary education is a means for fulfilling the obligations of human rights and for making…

In the early 1980s, local affiliates of the National Mental Health Association in states with large rural populations began to notice sharp increases in incidences of suicide, family violence, alcohol abuse, depression, and other psychological and emotional problems. These problems may link to negative economic conditions in rural America. In…

Describes Booker T. Washington's contributions to cooperative extension activities which have been overlooked by many writers. Indicates that his work as educator, in conjunction with Seaman A. Knapp, served a vital purpose to rural Black farmers and homemakers in the late 1800s. (JS)

The dramatic growth of multinational agribusiness corporations has led to all types of rural decline--social, demographic, institutional, and environmental. Historically, rural inhabitants and rural land have been abused and neglected in the name of progress. Rural development efforts often attract small assembly or light manufacturing plants that…