The relationship between education and socioeconomic development is reviewed, and a case study of school improvement efforts in an East Tennessee school district is presented. The district and surrounding Clinch County have been economically underdeveloped throughout this century; their schools represent structural barriers for human capital and…

Training policy should try to match changing demand for skills with a labor supply that is changing qualitatively and quantitatively. Infrastructural reform involves establishing closer links between education, training, and the workplace and redirecting funds to new training priorities. (Author/JOW)

A comparison of literacy efforts and outcomes in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Botswana suggests that, when national literacy efforts are viewed within the framework of an exploitative and dynamic world economy, few general rules can be deduced about the importance of literacy or how to achieve it. Decisions about African societal priorities must be…

Analysis of educational expansion in Brazil between 1940 and 1980 indicates that, in most circumstances, enrollment rates were positively related to urbanization, diversification of the occupational structure, and aggregate economic growth. States experiencing heavy in-migration showed a negative effect of migration on enrollment rates during…

In 1981, Jackson County, North Carolina, appeared on the first list of "distressed counties" in Appalachia. Since then, the rural county has made significant improvements by investing in its physical infrastructure (which also promotes tourism); fostering economic-development partnerships among governments, small businesses, and local…

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County (Oregon) provides a wide range of social services to stimulate community development, based on reuse, repair, and recycling. Job training and jobs are provided in the woodshop, appliance center, mattress factory, glass shop, and environmentally friendly housing construction projects, with priority…

Discusses the available options for resolving imbalances between training for employment and previous basic education. States that training in specific skills cannot replace basic education. Asserts that the process of technological change corresponds to an increased demand for workers with a high level of education, and identifies overlooked…

Explores the role played by modernization policies of the government in promoting contemporary conflicts between private and public interests, using Mexico and Oregon's education systems as case studies. Finds modernization policies, especially the privatization of education, inappropriate in meeting social, political, and economic needs of both…

Interviews children and adults living in rural areas in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India regarding education, revealing individuals' hopes and dreams against a backdrop of severe class, caste, and gender stratification. Examines the promise of schooling and literacy in India, the relationship of schooling and literacy to work, and of…

John Trudell, Indian activist orator and poet, discusses the "Spirit Eater," authoritarian systems that siphon off human energy to fuel a materialistic, technological reality. This illusion has dominated European cultures for thousands of years but contrasts sharply with indigenous knowledge and spirituality. He also discusses protecting…

Describes the role of South Dakota's governor in initiating technology plans for schools that would promote distance education. Discusses a conclave of leaders in technology and distance education that addressed the successful implementation of the Digital Dakota Network, a statewide intranet developed to help students, empower the workforce, and…

Asserts that community colleges have recreated themselves over the last 100 years in response to the changing American economy. Explains that the new need for community colleges to fulfill the local communities' economic needs calls for renewed civic participation in the colleges. Describes Maricopa Community College District's Civic Participation…

Describes general development assistance available to rural areas through federal programs that fund housing, extension education and research, rural community development, rural business development, resource conservation, and development activities in American Indian reservations and disadvantaged rural areas. (SV)

Tennessee's Three-Star Program for Community Economic Preparedness helps rural communities sell themselves as desirable locations for industry. The program emphasizes community planning and improved quality of life; features include adult leadership programs, community action projects, after-school and extracurricular programs for children and…

A partnership of nongovernmental organizations developed a model of integrated community development centers (CDICs) to address the lack of services and affordable basic necessities in poor barrios surrounding many Latin American cities. A CDIC in a Guayaquil (Ecuador) barrio provides wholesale goods and credit to barrio shopkeepers and…