There is not any one thing or any one group that can solve all the problems involved in staffing rural and small schools. It is quite common to find a bimodel distribution of teaching faculty in rural and small schools--those with less than 3 years and those with more than 10 years of experience. It could be inferred that either recruitment…

Surveyed Kansas teachers from small, medium, and large schools to determine if there were differences in instructional duties of teachers in schools of different sizes. Revealed that, although there were many similarities in types of duties required, teachers in small schools do have more noninstructional duties. (AH)

Identified characteristics perceived by students, educators, school board members, and the community to be the most important indicators of school quality in small school districts in Kansas. Determined the degree to which characteristics are present in selected small and rural schools. Respondents perceived their schools positively on the…

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…

Evaluations of rural and small schools done by stakeholders provide a broader base of involvement than those done internally by persons with a vested interest or potential conflict of interest. Presents tasks for initiating a stakeholders' evaluation, groups considered to be stakeholders, evaluation standards, and elements to include in a school…

Although school districts with under 2,500 students represent three-quarters of all school districts and enroll about 19% of all students, few institutions of higher education have programs designed specifically for rural education. Results of a survey of administrative heads of the department/school/college of education of 24 such institutions in…

Overviews factors influencing personnel evaluations and school improvement efforts in rural schools. Reports on a national study of elementary school teachers that revealed no relationship among personnel evaluations, student outcomes, and school improvement efforts. Suggests that school improvement programs include personnel evaluations that…

In 1986-87, Schools for Quality Education, an organization of some 80 small schools in Kansas, and the Center for Rural Education and Small Schools (College of Education, Kansas State University) jointly investigated the effectiveness of representative smaller schools serving rural areas in Kansas. The study, which was conducted in two phases,…

Schools for Quality Education, an organization of some 80 small Kansas schools, and the Center for Rural Education and Small Schools (College of Education, Kansas State University) in 1986-87 jointly investigated the effectiveness of representative smaller schools serving Kansas's rural areas. Phase 1 identified the most important indicators of…