This paper describes uses of technology in a rural school in Mississippi and presents the results of a study on calculator use in mathematics instruction. Computers are used in this district for scheduling, record keeping, and instruction, such as the Writing to Read Program. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommends the…

This proceedings of a conference on rural education includes 2 keynote speeches and abstracts of 50 conference sessions. The following key issues relevant to rural and small schools were emphasized in the conference sessions: (1) innovative uses of emerging technologies in rural and small schools; (2) rural education in transition; (3) rural…

For over 3 decades, American public secondary schools have become progressively larger. High school seniors once typically attended a school of 400 or fewer students; the majority of today's seniors graduate from a school with over 500 students. Although a 1964 Kansas study showed that small schools are superior to larger ones, James Conant's 1967…

This paper analyzes current policy and practice relating to the preparation and selection of teachers for rural areas of Australia, and contrasts these to perceptions of rural teachers concerning the adequacy of their preservice preparation. Nine recent Australian national and state reports and policy statements were analyzed. National policy…

As a component of the University of Alaska's Cross-Cultural Orientation Program (X-COP), this journal provides a forum for rural Alaska teachers to share ideas and insights. Articles in this issue discuss: (1) the inadequacies of educational research for defining the essence of effective teaching; (2) making the classroom culturally compatible…

This final report describes a project that identified the core components of a model program for the delivery of career guidance and counseling to all students at grades 7-12 and then developed and implemented the program. Project activities included selection and use of an advisory committee, provision of inservice training, program development,…

This report presents findings of a survey administered to 176 superintendents of small school districts in California. The purpose of the survey was to identify problems perceived by superintendents and to assess the extent to which districts have difficulties in providing effective instruction to limited English proficient (LEP) students.…

To discover how rural teachers in British Columbia felt about the quality of their work life, researchers surveyed all 1,148 teachers in the 242 elementary and secondary British Columbia schools that met the project's definition of "rural." Questionnaires, returned by 528 teachers (46%) were divided into five major areas: work…

The four-day school week is a Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday alternative to the traditional four-day week, which can be implemented with many variables and differing objectives. The four-day week saves heating, transportation, maintenance, electricity and some instructional costs, while providing better educational opportunities and use of…

Developed to provide an outdoor learning environment for a small school which had relatively undeveloped grounds, these plans are aimed toward providing: physical activity (climbing, running, jumping, and games); imaginative activity; social learning; environmental study; mathematics and science; exploring materials, e.g., water and soil; and the…

The Black Mesa Community School, serving elementary school children in an isolated district of the Arizona Navajo reservation, represents the first step in Indian self-determination for area Navajos. The school is the result of community efforts begun in 1972 with a petition to operate a full-time school program for grades K-4 at Kitsilee.…

This collection features 11 papers from a national symposium on rural education. The papers are consistent in noting that while there are common elements among all schools regardless of location, rural schools operate within a unique context. Several papers address the diversity of rural locales and the challenges educators face in such locales.…

Two-thirds of all schools in the United States are rural and three-fourths are small. Statistically, most teenage parents are from such school systems. Yet the problem of teenage pregnancy is most frequently overlooked by rural and small school communities. In fact, some cultural factors and resource deficiencies of these communities actually…

A unit to remediate and teach critical thinking skills was designed and implemented for a class of 24 average ninth graders in a small public high school. The unit's aims were to make available teaching materials and strategies using the mass media as a vehicle, thus providing readily available resources and tools to aid in the teaching of five…

This document summarizes a study examining perceptions of supervision by teachers in small, isolated Alaskan schools. The study was conducted to provide information for improving rural teacher supervision, for assisting teacher development, and for improving teacher-supervisor relationships. The study, based on a mail survey that gathered 156…