Improving Rural Education: Past Efforts, Some Ideas for the Future (original) (raw)
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The Status of American Rural Education Research: An Integrated Review and Commentary
Review of Educational Research, 1987
The history of American education has been primarily an urban history. School reform movements of the mid-19th century were targeted at the particular problems brought on by the Industrial Revolution. Early 20th-century school administrators, and later progressive educators, defined the majority of America's educational problems in terms of school-based occupational and community living skills that city dwellers needed in modern America. Finally, school reforms of the 1950s-80s have been targeted primarily at such concerns as the plight of minorities in inner cities, national defense needs, and now occupational skills necessary to compete internationally. Such reforms have had the net effect of continuing the century-long bias of much educational policy, scholarship, and research toward urban-based issues and concerns. On the other hand, a variety of research and policy initiatives have emerged in rural America, typically sponsored by state departments of education in primarily rural regions of the country and by numerous grassroots organizations. Similarly, there has begun to emerge an interesting yet diverse literature on issues and problems in rural education. Themes such as education for economic development, problems with achieving educational equity in rural America, issues in appropriate school size, the role of the school in community life, problems with the training and rewarding of professional staff in rural schools, and so forth have begun to draw serious attention from a new wave of rural education researchers. The purpose of the following literature review is to elaborate on historical and contemporary reasons why scholarship on rural education has been relatively underdeveloped in this country, to briefly survey current initiatives in emerging rural education scholarship, and to speculate on the possibilities and dilemmas this field faces in its future evolution. Almost two thirds of all school districts, half of all public schools, and one third of practicing classroom teachers are currently located in rural areas of the United States (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1980). At the same time, available literature on the status of rural schools suggests that many, if not most, face numerous staffing, expenditure, and instructional problems frequently dissimilar to those of metropolitan America (Dunne & Carlsen, 1981). It has also been continually claimed by those who work in and with rural schools that research on the particular problems, issues, and trends in rural education is relatively scarce, of very uneven quality, and typically found either in relatively obscure state depart-The author wishes to thank the
Toward a Rural Philosophy of Education
2022
This essay calls for the development of a rural philosophy of education and outlines considerations toward that end. Questioning the applicability of current school reform initiatives to rural education, the essay draws on the work of rural philosopher Wendell Berry, educational historian Paul Theobald, and other rural scholars to outline considerations for the development of such an education philosophy. Education policy issues, rural history, and current economic, political, and cultural challenges are presented. Differences, strengths, and needs of rural education are highlighted as considerations that must be addressed in the formation of a philosophy of rural education.
Where Has All the "Rural" Gone?: Rural Education Research and Current Federal Reform
Journal of Research in Rural Education, 2000
Rural education research has been misunderstood, underfunded, and discouraged, and the resulting collection of work has suffered for it, according to many observers. Various studies-notably, analyses by the U.S. Department of Education itself-identify significant deficiencies in the national body of research on rural schools. Now the federal apparatus for funding educational research is under intense scrutiny and targeted for reform, with proposals expected from both Congress and the Department of Education. The Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is the principal source of federal aid for educational research. OERI's research program has been criticized for its lack of definition, lack of coordination among its Regional Educational Laboratories and Research and Development Centers, and inadequate dissemination of useable information to schools. While changes to OERI are expected, it remains questionable whether they will address the research needs of rural communities and schools. Instead, information gatherers are increasingly being directed toward "problem-centered" research with the broadest possible applications, effectively consolidating research and abandoning responsibility for rural and other "targeted" populations. This paper discusses common deficiencies in rural education research, some causes for these deficiencies, OERI contributions to rural research (and lack of follow-up), and suggestions for rural advocates. (Contains 25 references.) (SV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Rural Education in the Northeast United States
1987
Using data produced by a 1987 national survey of approximately 2,400 rural school board presidents, district superintendents, principals, and teachers, this report focuses on special concerns and strengths revealed by 351 respondents from rural, small schools in 7 Northeastern states (Connecticut, Maine,
1984
A synthesis of research findings addressing effects of population and economic changes on education supply and demand in rural communities also presents policy implications, to help with local decision making. Principal research findings listed include: lack of a statistical relationship between per pupil expenditures and achievement on standardized tests; teachers' salaries are determinants of school quality as measured by achievement tests; lack of evidence of economies of size for school districts, except small rural districts; and a consistent relationship exists among income, community wealth, school size and school expenditure levels. Principal implications for policy and future research are also stated: school decision makers must consider school system structure to determine the most effective means of meeting short-and long-run educational objectives when allocating funds, and research is needed to help school administrators minimize costs when faced with excess capacity and reduced enrollments. Also recommended are expenditure analysis to identify local factors that community leaders can modify to deliver education at least cost, research on relationships between local economic growth and local education, and consideration of local, private, social, and spillover benefits of education when determining total returns to education. An annotated bibliography describes 121 research reports published between 1960 and 1983.-Research projects (25) of the Southern Rural Development Center are listed. (MH)
Towards a realistic approach to rural education
Prospects, 1978
Socioeconomic disparities in Latin America present a challenge to any educational plan designed for the rural environment. Until now a general rural education strategy has been applied, to the detriment of depressed areas. In those areas, the benefit derived from educational facilities tends to be proportional to spending power. Accordingly, instead of being conducive to equal opportunity, the educational system serves only to widen the gap between the privileged few and the underprivileged majority. The population of these depressed areas totals approximately 65 millions. If we show the geographical areas with an acceptable living standard on a map of Latin America, they form small islands in a sea of extreme poverty. Despite this situation, there is an educational system which is totally unrelated to the realities of life. The main aim of this article is to examine the problems encountered in subsistence-farming areas. The most urgent task in these areas is to provide for the basic necessities of life: food and a minimum of protection against the rigours of the environment. The educational system has to Abner Prada (Uruguay). Considerable experience in rural education as a teacher and then national inspector for rural education. Since z967 he has served as a Unesco expert in rural and adult education in Latin America.