This paper has analyzed the characteristic features of women's associations and problems inhibiting their effective participation in rural development projects in Osun State, Nigeria. One rural local government area was purposively selected in each of the six administrative zones in Osun State, based on high degrees of ruralness. A list of…

Do sport, exercise, and physical education (SEPE) professionals empower the people they serve and contribute to community development? Do SEPE policies, programs, and practices contribute to sustainable economic and social development, making them worthwhile governmental investments? These questions frame the ensuing analysis. Empowerment-oriented…

This article discusses two projects supported by the Higher Education Active Community Fund, which involved student and staff volunteers in working with local communities and community-based organisations in two London boroughs. Oral history methods were used to investigate and represent the experiences of elderly people living in Borough A and…

This multi-site case study examined the relationships and interactions among school professionals, parents, and a faith-based institution striving to create viable learning communities in the Texas Borderlands. Through a school-community partnership known as the Texas Alliance School Initiative, two sample schools collaborated with the El Paso…

A new Sacramento State University Urban Teacher Education Center (UTEC) is located at Jedediah Smith Elementary School, a highly diverse urban school whose students come entirely from two federally subsidized housing complexes. This paper documents the integration of UTEC into the school and its community, including descriptions of the initial…

This report profiles three workforce organizations across the country--in Colorado, Georgia and New York--and explores the strategies they used to grow their programs locally. The report examines the dilemmas workforce organizations frequently face in meeting not only the needs of their dual customers--job seekers and employers--but also the needs…

This chapter reports on the activities of the Rural Continuing Education Centre (CREPA), a nongovernmental organization run by volunteers from small agricultural villages in the Las Villas area of Salamanca, Spain. The organization was founded in 1983 with the goal of improving living conditions and community life for villagers through social…

Rural schools traditionally have played a central role in their communities. Now, as rural communities face declining quality of life and threats to their viability, collaborative partnerships between communities and schools offer a promising approach to community revitalization and survival. Researchers have identified three distinct, yet related…

This guide provides information on 42 directories that list over 20,000 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Listings cover NGOs in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean Region, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico,…

Hitachi grantees promote social responsibility through efforts supporting effective participation in a global society. Meeting participants explored issues in global and multicultural education and in community development. Among the contents of this compilation are pre-meeting reflections on cultural change and developing multiculturalism…

The urbanization and industrialization of a society based on commercial competitiveness has resulted in the marginalization of rural communities and the disempowerment of rural people. An alternative view of the future is needed, and rural schools have a part to play in creating it. Four sets of forces are driving society toward a different…

This paper addresses the nature of educational reform and recommends strategies to better reflect the needs of rural schools and their communities. The furor over education reform is largely produced by those who stand to gain from it, including politicians who promote their own agendas and consultants, professors, and experts who make a good…

This paper explores the emerging relationship between distance education and sustainable development. After ranging through the literature on sustainable community development, this essay concludes that above all it must be unified: it must combine the traditional economic criteria for success (profits and employment) with a fusing of community…

The Centralia 21st Century Visioning Project was undertaken by the city of Centralia, in Washington, and Centralia College to determine a vision for the city for the next century based on citizen and business input. In summer 1994, the college conducted a survey of 185 businesses from the city's downtown core to gather retailers' perceptions on…

There is evidence that those who seek employment during difficult times, but are not successful, will continue to experience ongoing hardships throughout their working lives, often developing an ongoing dependency on the social safety net. This digest describes two federal programs on the youth employment front: (1) Youth Service Canada (YSC),…