This book compares small schools in various countries with large ones and offers cost effective strategies for small schools. Part I focuses on social, economic, and educational issues related to small schools. Small schools are beneficial to their communities as centers of social development. In addition, small schools have a more cooperative…

Noting that children of all socioeconomic levels are at risk for poor nutrition, and that hunger and poor nutrition in America are on the rise, this report reviews what is known about the link between nutrition and learning in children and between nutrition education and eating habits. It describes several federal and non-federal government…

The BRIDGES Project was initiated to explore ways for North Dakota to provide young people with stronger bridges from childhood to adulthood. This report summarizes recommendations of the 1990-91 Governor's Task Force on Early Adolescence. The recommendations concern practical actions for the building of bridges by the following groups: (1)…

This proceedings of a conference focusing on the school-community relationship contains eight papers. "A Changing Rural America: The Context for School/Community Development" compares community development with economic development and offers suggestions for rural schools to participate in community development. "Integrating the…

Participatory research began as a reaction to traditional social science research methodology, which tended to make persons into objects of study. It had its beginnings in Tanzania around 1970, when a group of farmers participated in research to assess and solve the problem of losses of grain harvests. The process grew out of the philosophy of…

The Teacher-Parent Partnership for the Enhancement of School Success Project was a cooperative project involving the University of South Carolina and the Salkehatchie Consortium (a collection of 18 rural school districts). Its goal was to increase the language, mathematics, social responsibility, and expressive skills of young at-risk children…

Difficulties in recruiting and retaining rural special educators relate directly to deficiencies in teacher preparation programs, which are not providing their budding professionals with appropriate instruction to insure success and survival as rural special educators. In December 1982, a National Consortium of Universities Preparing Rural Special…

Working together, communities and small school districts can combat teacher shortages affected by negative attitudes towards teaching, working conditions, and general economic conditions by providing sufficient resources for successful teacher recruitment and retention programs. Specific strategies for recruitment, interviewing, induction, and…

The development of the Bernard van Leer Foundation is recounted. The discussion illustrates general trends by means of selective project reviews and references to theoretical discussions which were prevalent in early childhood education during the period from 1965-1986. Also considered are activities encouraged by the foundation which have…

This document provides guidelines for administrators, practitioners, and parents to use in developing high quality preschool education programs for 4-year-olds. Ideas presented in the document are based on principles set forth and confirmed by research on individual needs of young children, child development, and the conditions under which…

Informed and involved citizens are crucial to the functioning of U.S. democracy, yet many people increasingly are reluctant to exercise even the most basic responsibilities of citizenship. Participation in the political process is disturbingly low. If this trend is to be reversed, the country must strengthen civic values and expand the civic…

Recent studies on educational effectiveness in the United States have criticized deficiencies of the educational system, rather than acknowledging its achievements. The eight characteristics of excellent schools described in "Search for Excellence" by Peters and Waterman (1982) provide a comparative framework for an assessment of organizational…

This issue of "Network News" focuses on efforts to remedy the dropout problem. The following programs' common goal is not only to retain students through graduation, but to ensure that they acquire the skills necessary to take their place as productive members of society: (1) the Classroom Partners Project, a collaborative effort between…

External evaluation of a bilingual education program for limited-English-speaking Japanese and Korean students found that while ambitious program objectives established for the program's second year were not met, student progress was closely monitored and used in planning for the next year. Student reclassifications were reduced. Activity or…

Thirty-seven small high schools in 22 states, ranging in enrollment from 27 to 328 students in the top 4 grades, were visited to obtain information on the outstanding aspects of their educational program, teaching methods, or physical facilities. Information was also obtained from six teachers and one administrator from seven schools in the Rocky…