Tax increment financing (TIF)--an economic (re)development tool originally designed for urban cities--has been available to rural communities for decades. This is the first study to focus solely on TIF in rural school districts, to examine TIF effects on school districts' property tax base and rates, and to conduct event-study estimations of TIF…

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…

Despite the significant proportions of rural Americans, schools, and public school students situated in the geographic peripheries of an increasingly urbanizing country, rural education in the United States has consistently occupied both scholarly and policy peripheries. This is to the detriment of rural America, especially to the extent that…

This paper sets forth a model of regional stewardship developed and implemented at a post-compulsory institution serving rural communities in central Appalachia, a region that is among the most impoverished in the United States. The model, termed place-conscious capacity-building, emphasises culturally-responsive methodologies and the strategic…

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…

This short annotated bibliography is intended for use by policymakers in states and communities that are concerned with linking education and economic development in rural areas. It contains references to selected publications and resource materials (including audiovisuals) prepared with federal funds. The bibliography is divided into the…

Examines the potential role of the rural school within the context of community development. Clarifies the differences between community growth and community development, and between community development and economic development. Rural community development is a process of developing the capacity of rural residents to identify common interests…

The role of schooling in the economic development process has been targeted as essential in both human capital theory and modernization theories. Research into the nature of underdevelopment in Central Appalachia has provided a basis for debate among regional scholars as to its causes and consequences, yet serious discussion of pre-modern…

Surveyed 134 small rural school administrators in New Mexico, west Texas, eastern Arizona, and southern California to determine their perception of education's role in economic development. Data suggest that most school districts place comparatively little emphasis on economic development. Offers strategies for communities to engage in active…

Describes problems in rural education and highlights reform programs in rural schools. Many reform programs combine school improvement with rural economic development. Barriers to reform include the One Best System Model and consolidation. Local control of schools is a key to successful reform. (KS)

This monograph, commissioned by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, presents information on the issues and practices of small and/or rural community colleges in the United States. Although a significant number of students enrolled in the nation's two-year colleges are attending small and rural colleges, there is a dearth of…

In rural America, creating quality work-based-learning opportunities (such as career days and field trips) depends more on understanding students and their families, parent and community involvement, and economic development than on students' ability to compete in a "global economy." Craig Howley's sidebar explains community…

Rural America has been experiencing dramatic changes and is becoming an increasingly diverse society. To explore the process by which rural schools define and work towards change, case studies were conducted on two rural schools that have established unusually strong links with their communities. Information was collected by personal interviews…

The idea that education is connected to economic development and that the economy can be strengthened by strengthening education has become a cornerstone of the 1980s educational reform movement. The basic idea linking education and the economy is not new. Americans have invested in education with the expectation that it would yield substantial…

In developing this compendium of exemplary economic development practices among small and/or rural two-year colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges Commission on Small/Rural Community Colleges (CSMCC) sent out a call for program descriptions to all community colleges with less than 3,000 full-time employees or that were…