Describes attitudes and strategies used by two small rural towns to foster economic development and improve local housing, schools, professional facilities, and recreational programs for youth and adults. Emphasizes individual leadership qualities useful in creating a vision for community survival, communicating the vision through town meetings,…

Sponsored by Rural Action, an Ohio multicounty community development corporation, artist Geoff Schenkel involves Appalachian Ohio communities and schools in the creation of community murals. The projects counter Appalachian stereotypes and boost self-esteem and community revitalization. Includes photographs. (SAS)

Stone Soup Partnership is a collaboration between California State University at Fresno and its surrounding community to address serious problems in a high-crime, impoverished apartment complex near the university. The program involves students in service learning for university credit, and has expanded from a single summer youth program to a…

Explores characteristics of community in general and how these relate to the Montessori community. Urges the Montessori community to resist complacency by employing realistic decisions, goals, and interactions with one another; utilizing contemplation as a method of increasing community awareness; and searching for wisdom through thought, study,…

Debunks common myths about rurality and rural Australia. Calls for a change in perspective, putting person and place at the center of learning. Local involvement is key to the proposed Centre for Rural Communities, which would promote community sustainability through networking and training. Describes the Rural Women's Programme in Victoria and a…

Case studies of the University of Leeds' action research projects in the local community illustrate the use of mainstream and other sources of funding to fulfil a social purpose agenda. Recent funding changes may jeopardize community-based adult education, despite rhetoric about universities and their communities. (SK)

Highlights recent early childhood and community development work in rural Kenyan communities. Presents: (1) a brief history and overview of early childhood care and education; (2) examples from the Mwana Mwende community development project; (3) ways in which early childhood development has mobilized the community; and (4) examples of increasing…

Analyzed the relationship between elements of child welfare and an index of social well-being in Minnesota counties. Found that all except two rural counties and only two urban counties had negative social well-being scores. Counties with low social well-being scores tended to have larger numbers of child welfare recipients. Findings suggest that…

Discusses the concept of community as it applies to the college campus, focusing on community as a place to be, identifying implications for space utilization; a way of being, offering suggestions for community development; and both a place to be and a way of being, examining the implications for creating community interactions through campus…

Explores the idea that workplaces have levels of moral complexity to assist in understanding how schools can create conditions that foster teacher's personal and professional growth. Focuses on: (1) social and moral complexity of the job of teaching; (2) schools as communities of development; (3) teacher development; and (4) effects on students…

In Manteo, North Carolina, community involvement in planning and design phases of community revitalization led to recognition of the town's "sacred structure"--highly valued places essential to social processes, lifestyle, and sense of place. Identification and preservation of these places allowed community development without negative…

Argues that the goal of improving student outcomes in urban school districts is insufficient. Urban school reform should be tied to efforts to enhance community development. If children and educators feel unsafe in schools, then increased student achievement is virtually meaningless. Profiles the "City of New Orleans" Empowerment Zone…

Mary Slessor was a Scottish missionary who established many schools in Nigeria and developed close relationships with Nigerian chiefs and tribal members. She championed women's rights and focused her educational endeavors on vocational training relevant to the local economy. Slessor incorporated her knowledge of Nigerian culture into her teaching…

The Single European Market will have serious effects on employment, production, and consumption in the United Kingdom. Of particular concern to voluntary and community organizations are the skills, gender, and racial gaps in the labor force. Organizations must develop the capacity to think and work within a European framework. (SK)

Perceives the community college's image as distorted by the provision of hobby and recreation courses. Advocates linkages with other community organizations offering adult and community service programs. Calls for college involvement community development and the solution of urban and suburban problems. (DMM)