Considerable attention has been given to organizational effectiveness of public sector organizations at all levels: local, state, and federal. Public education has not escaped scrutiny. Current examinations of the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of education are more intense than that of other public sector organizations. The organizational…

Little attention has been given the to need to improve the working conditions of rural small school district superintendents. This paper describes a six-step process to estimate the number of small rural superintendencies, provides a demographic profile of individuals occupying these positions, and explores three dimensions relevant to their…

Establishes a rationale for increasing use of interorganizational arrangements among small, rural school districts. Compares two basic forms of interorganizational relations: cooperation and coordination. Identifies several core propositions to guide policy planners and decision-makers when designing cooperative agreements. Includes 34 references.…

Offers a five-step design for assessing organizational effectiveness in small rural school districts: (1) consideration of major policy and technical issues; (2) defining the district's organizational components; (3) agreeing on measures of quality; (4) translating measures of quality into operational standards; and (5) assessing standards'…

Sums up the current status of rural education research, offers explanations for the present situation, and argues for two essential steps in developing a rural research and development agenda: adoption of overarching research paradigms to guide future inquiry and consensus concerning the substantive issues to be studied. (JHZ)

The rural school superintendency is, in many ways, as demanding and difficult as the urban superintendency. Chapter 1 of this book provides a working definition of a rural small school district, an estimation of the number of rural systems in the nation that fit the criteria, and a profile of rural small school superintendents. Chapter 2 discusses…

Until the quantity, quality, and utility for policy development of research literature on rural education is improved, the potential for furthering the current national momentum of interest in rural education cannot be realized. Explanations for the limited research literature include a lack of appreciation for differences between rural and urban…

This book develops a framework to help policymakers and policy analysts understand and judge policy options, so they can construct alternatives to the reorganization of rural, small school districts. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the book by stating the objectives and providing working definitions for "school district reorganization" and…