Three documents and eight journal articles on staff development (focusing particularly on inservice teacher education), selected from those recently made available through the ERIC system, are described briefly in this report. Topics covered by the items listed include enhancing teachers' perceptions of themselves, identifying workable staff…

Designed to assist teachers in small schools with the improvement of curriculum and instruction and to help smaller districts which do not have curriculum personnel to comply with Washington's Student Learning Objectives (SLO) Law, this guide contains reading curriculum materials for grades 7 and 8. The objectives listed are correlated to the…

POPULATION TRENDS, DEFINED AS DISTRIBUTION, COMPOSITION, AND CHANGES IN NUMBERS WERE DETERMINED IN THIS DOCUMENT FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. DATA WERE GATHERED FROM PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, THE LOUISIANA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES OF HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS AND SENIORS IN SELECTED SAMPLE SCHOOLS. THE…

IN JANUARY 1959, PHASE I OF THE TEXAS SMALL SCHOOLS PROJECT WAS UNDERTAKEN TO (1) OFFER AN INCREASED VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES, (2) INITIATE MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT, (3) INDIVIDUALIZE INSTRUCTION, AND (4) STRENGTHEN GUIDANCE AND TESTING PROGRAMS. DURING PHASE II, TO BEGIN IN 1960, SEVERAL SMALL TWELVE-GRADE SCHOOLS…

THE PHENONMENON OF RURALITY OCCURS ALONG A RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM, WITH THE DEGREE OF RURALITY DEPENDING UPON ENVIRONMENTAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND SOCIO-CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS. A HIGH DEGREE OF RURALITY IS LIKELY TO EXIST IN AREAS WHERE POPULATION CENTERS DO NOT EXCEED 2,500 PERSONS, OCCUPATIONS ARE PRIMARILY BASED ON NATURAL RESOURCE AND/OR LAND…

The study was designed: (1) to investigate civic, recreational, and extra-curricular activities in which teachers in rural schools participated; (2) to find out what percent of rural teachers originally came from rural communities; (3) to discover advantages and disadvantages of teaching in rural schools; (4) to determine areas of preservice…

Professional opinion and major research studies on the recommended sizes for school and school districts are summarized in this review. Definitive recommendations are not attempted, but the review does provide educational decision-makers with an insight into the thinking of others on these questions. The first section of the two-part study reviews…

A Statewide Study Team presented a comprehensive plan for educational improvement in North Dakota. Several basic educational problems were identified which can be solved by qualified educational personnel. This document describes the personnel situation. Discussion includes the following: characteristics of public school teachers in terms of…

Montana rural special educators (109) answering a questionnaire indicated 40% of rural/isolated classrooms are not complying with the law requiring interdisciplinary teams to educate handicapped students. In many schools one special education teacher serves as interdisciplinary team/total service provider. Teacher training programs should be…

This paper describes U.S. Department of Defense Schools, an education system with significant outcomes that may be pertinent to raising academic achievement among minority students. A research group examined the high achievement of African American and Hispanic students in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools. Results find that…

In 2001, the National Education Goals Panel commissioned researchers from Vanderbilt University to study the consistent high achievement of African American and Latino students in Department of Defense schools. This digest summarizes the results of their study and presents supporting research that identifies policies and practices that may…

Thirteen strategies are presented for reducing the costs of renovating or building a small school. Advice for getting started includes understanding the resistance to small schools, examining existing state policy, questioning the "schools within a school" approach, and planning ahead. The thirteen strategies are: (1) don't build one; (2) maintain…

Examines effects of an afterschool science program on minority female students' attitudes toward science, engineering, and mathematics. The program, which incorporated cooperative learning, lands-on activities, mentoring, and role models, positively influenced participants' attitudes to (and subsequent participation in) these subject areas.…

Students, faculty, administration, and community members of three Iowa rural school districts were interviewed to identify educational issues in their communities. The results of the Iowa investigation are compared with the results of the Claremont Graduate School investigation published in "Voices from the inside: A report on schooling from…

This study uses mixed methods to identify the factors linked to varying levels of academic performance among Latina/o students enrolled in an alternative high school. Results from the quantitative analyses suggest students who had highly educated fathers and who reported high levels of English literacy are very likely to be classified as academic…