Problems facing the literacy movement in the Solomon Islands are related to communication, economic, and linguistic barriers. The island is linguistically diverse. English is the official language, but a national literacy committee found that only 26% of people could speak English. Improving primary education is a government priority. Training of…

Describes the author's experience teaching a class of remote and isolated children using Air (broadcast) Lessons and Distance Education lesson materials. (WRM)

A survey of 18 families in New South Wales (Australia) examined rural parent perceptions concerning early childhood services. Cost, inflexibility, lack of specific services, and distance were considered problems in service provision. Parent recommendations included flexible use of facilities, outreach services, local development of services, and…

This paper examines the extent to which rural America is digital--has access to the Internet and to newer technologies such as wireless broadband--and discusses rural supply and demand for "going digital." Supply aspects include issues of both infrastructure and public policy. Demand aspects include entrepreneurs (business users) and…

Mental health professionals and parents of children and adolescents with serious mental health problems from four contiguous "frontier" counties participated in two separate focus groups about service delivery issues. The four counties met the frontier criterion of low population density, had high poverty rates, and were…

In Northern Territory (Australia), a small, remote, rural school serving Aboriginal students increased parent and community involvement, resulting in improved student achievement. Community members helped to develop culturally relevant, bilingual materials, drawing on financial support from the national Aboriginal Student Support and Parental…

The planning of a community-based accident prevention program in a rural Queensland (Australia) community is described. The process involved the establishment of a local steering committee, data collection, presentation of findings, determination of priorities, review of the evidence, description of target group, exploration of problem and…

The village center model is designed to eliminate fragmented social service delivery problems in rural areas. The Whole Village Project at Plymouth, New Hampshire, offers interagency collaboration, local control and leadership, and increased client access to family and child services. Alternative strategies are outlined for development of similar…

Valdosta State University (Georgia) uses audio/video conferencing in its teacher education program, a low-cost alternative to travel that enables student teachers to access the expertise of their supervisors more frequently; supervisors to observe student teachers; simultaneous interactions between supervisor, student teacher, and mentor, or among…

The West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships program and West Virginia Extension Service played primary roles as community gatekeepers in helping researchers involve rural residents in focus groups to elicit cultural perspectives on diabetes and its management. The collaboration helped researchers gain entry to rural communities and…

Alaska's efforts toward sustainable development include protecting the subsistence lifestyle by involving indigenous people in stakeholder decisions about whaling and fishing quotas and offshore oil drilling; developing rural energy, water, and sewage infrastructures; using telecommunications to bring health care and education to remote areas; and…

This map of the contiguous United States uses a seven-color scheme to display a rurality index score for counties. The measure of rurality is intended to represent degree of isolation from and inability to participate in the programs of the larger society. It is intended to reflect both physical isolation and the isolation that comes from a lack…

How to adequately fund small schools is becoming a pressing issue in Maine due to numerous factors, including state and federal accountability laws and declining enrollments. The following were among the challenges facing small rural schools: (a) attracting and retaining qualified teachers, (b) attracting and retaining qualified specialty teachers…

This module is designed to serve as part of a special education course in which rural-based problems and issues are addressed. The study guide is in five sections. It begins with a brief introduction to the program. Part 2 is a lecture outline, detailing the sections of the course that address rural special education challenges, life in rural…

Fourche Valley School District in central Arkansas has a single K-12 school serving 157 students. Surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest, Fourche Valley is unusually isolated and lacking in economic opportunity, leading to "low aspirations" among students who desire to remain in the area. Nevertheless, the school is thriving in the…