A reversal in rural-to-urban migration patterns is creating increasing interest in the quality of education in rural areas and in techniques for meeting educational needs in sparsely populated regions. Wholesale urbanization of rural schools generally is rejected as a potential solution: it is logistically inefficient; centralization and standardization are met with growing resistance; and conventional solutions to educational problems produce uneven results when applied to rural areas. This book addresses the broad spectrum of rural education issues within OECD member countries. The authors identify innovative programs, policies, and strategies and point toward the more promising paths for rural school improvement. They also issue warnings about some of the blind alleys and dead ends that can be encountered. The major topics covered include delivery systems, in-school innovations, support mechanisms, and community-school linkages.

Indifference has not always characterized American attitudes toward rural children, nor has neglect always been the cornerstone of state and federal policy toward rural education. Indeed, for nearly a century there was an avid and influential—though ultimately ineffective—rural school reform movement in the United States. But in recent years, rural education has become a "skeleton in the closet" of the education profession. More than 14 million children attend rural schools that receive only minuscule amounts of the nation s financial resources and professional attention. The authors of this book carefully analyze the beliefs, assumptions, policies, and practices that have shaped and continue to shape education in rural America, concluding that conventional wisdom in rural education has proved to be considerably more conventional than wise. They offer pragmatic suggestions for changes in rural schools, in educational policy, and in programs designed for rural communities. As Robert Coles tells us in his Foreword to the book, they "give us clear, strong, uncluttered prose—a good sign that they are able to offer sensible, honest, unpretentious suggestions and useful ideas. They give us. . .a social history that enables perspective . . . and [they give us] practical, well-argued suggestions for a public policy both humane and capable of realization for our rural areas."

"A collection of essays examining the various social, cultural, and economic intersections of rural place and global space, as viewed through the lens of education. Explores practices that offer both problems and possibilities for the future of rural schools and communities, in the United States and abroad"--Provided by publisher.

The close-knit, personal nature of small rural communities results in school and community operating as a single integrated social structure. Useful rural school improvement strategies must, therefore, address needs that are recognized by both the local school and the community and must operate in a style congruent with the local setting. Although outside ideas and resources may contribute greatly to successful plans to improve rural schools, a high level of local involvement is essential in determining the specifics of those plans. This is clearly demonstrated by the thirteen case studies presented in this book, in which the strategies that have been effective over time in resolving rural school problems are distinguished by a high degree of local participation. The cases–chosen to provide good examples of particular strategies and also to represent the diversity that characterizes rural America–cover centrally designed, heavily funded programs as well as small-scale, locally initiated efforts in such areas as teacher training, the introduction of new curricula, and community participation in education decision making and political action. The final chapters analyze the case studies in practical terms and recommend policy and practice for future rural school improvement.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Rural Life and the Rural School" by Joseph Kennedy. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Rural schools, and the large chunk of the nation's students who attend them, face challenges every bit as daunting as those of their urban counterparts. It is important to keep in mind that rural schools differ greatly from one another. But as a group, students in these schools generally score as well as or better than non-rural students on standardised tests. The makeup of student populations in rural schools differs considerably across the country as well. As a whole, rural students are predominantly white. Studies in several states have shown that small schools and districts can overcome the adverse effects of poverty on student achievement and narrow the achievement gap between poor students and their more affluent peers.