Much of the Northwest Region (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) is rural in nature. A characteristic of the extractive economies such as timber, agriculture, mining, and fisheries is that they are generally located in small communities isolated by distances. While schools in these communities face the same challenges as those in…

Gives 1986 National Rural and Small Schools Consortium Conference definitions for rural school district, small school district, and remote/isolated school, providing common terms for communicating with legislators, federal/state policymakers, and researchers. Emphasizes "ruralness" as a continuum affected by the interaction of…

Reports on a 1983-84 nationwide descriptive study of K-12 and one-12 rural school districts enrolling 300 students or less done to provide educators with needed information on the status of the very small school district. Highlights findings on rural districts, superintendents, teachers, student performance, and school programs. (BRR)

Traces decline of one-room schools from 24,000 in 1959 to about 840 today. Reports findings from 1984 survey of 643 surviving one-room schools in Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, California, and Wyoming. Includes data on enrollments, teacher qualifications and responsibilities, student achievement, and school facilities/equipment. (NEC)

Reviews studies of cognitive development of high school students in small rural schools. Finds that while research clearly shows that students in small rural schools may not be as intellectually developed as students in large schools, little research has been done to identify possible causes for this difference. (BRR)

Exploring relationships between organizational and personal characteristics and responses to innovation, this study surveyed teachers--including identified innovators--in 10 small rural secondary schools. The research was informed by a developing theory viewing receptivity, or variation in acceptable conditions of risk, as determined by the…

Administrative changes were tabulated for 275 rural Kansas school districts with K-12 operations. Data covering a six-year period showed high school principals changing most frequently, followed by middle/junior high school principals, high school assistant principals, and elementary principals. Central office personnel and superintendents…

Recent college graduates (N=162), teaching in schools of 600 or fewer students, rated the importance--to success in teaching--of 45 areas of college studies. Only two areas were rated below the mid-point on the scale of importance. Oral communications, discipline, classroom management, teaching major specialty, and motivating students were rated…

Oral history plays a vital role in accurate preservation of the rural school experience and the actual restoration of some of the country's 212,000 one-room school buildings. Oral histories provide valuable, first-hand information on who taught in and who attended one-room schools, what the curriculum included, what the building looked like, and…

Only nine of 306 public, four-year colleges/universities reported teacher training course(s) devoted solely to study of rural/small schools. Most of the 87 including rural education as part of curriculum did so only as special topic of general course. Only 93 of 306 institutions reported faculty pursuing rural education interests. (NEC)

Supporting earlier research evidence showing that participation in school activities is related to later positive cognitive, social, and personality development, the findings of this study suggest that the advantages for the well rounded development of the individual student in small schools--those graduating 150 or fewer students per year--may…

Across the nation, more than 2.2 million children attend 2,750 rural school districts that suffer from chronic, severe poverty. The National Rural Small Schools Task Force oversees nine regional educational laboratories as they identify and develop promising educational practices for rural, small schools. One laboratory developed a data base…

Superintendents, principals, and teachers from a statistical sample of small schools throughout the United States completed a needs assessment questionnaire. Concerns seemed less related to curriculum and academics and more related to teacher and student attitude, motivation, and general well-being. Significant differences were found between the…

Of 105 different course offerings, 36 percent were provided at significantly higher frequencies in large high schools whereas only 2 percent were offered at significantly higher frequencies in small schools. Significant differences were noted in all foreign language and advanced placement courses surveyed and in almost one-half of…

This study assessed the second year of a 5-year project--the Carroll Instructional Television Consortium--which uses two-way interactive cable television (both audio and video) as an alternative method of delivering courses in four small rural high schools in Illinois. Specific evaluation questions investigated the instructional effectiveness of…