Rural Education | S

Saarinen, Taina (2005).  From Sickness to Cure and Further: Construction of "Quality" in Finnish Higher Education Policy from the 1960s to the Era of the Bologna Process  Quality in Higher Education, 11, 1. 

This article looks into the discursive construction of "quality" and "assessment" in Finnish higher education policy from the 1960s onwards. The theoretical assumption is that the discourse of "quality" not only describes the developments in Finnish higher education policy, but also produces and reproduces our views on that policy and on the motivating forces behind it. The methodology is text analytical, concentrating on the metaphors and actions connected with the words "quality" and "assessment". The data consists of printed text material by the Council of State, the Ministry of Education and the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council.

Sack, Joetta L. (2004).  Costs Climb on Materials for Schools: Construction Projects Delayed, Scrapped  Education Week, 24 n1 p1, 24 Sep 2004. 

The rapidly rising cost of steel and other construction materials is forcing some districts that are building new schools to scramble for more money, delay work, or redesign projects. Nationwide, contractors and architects are finding it harder to give accurate estimates on projects, and some have even had to renegotiate contracts with districts. This article discusses the impact of price increase of construction materials to districts' new school projects and to the construction contractors as well. Furthermore, the author discusses factors that drive up the cost of these materials.

Sack, Joetta L. (2004).  School Construction Defies Fiscal Doldrums  Education Week, 23 n27 p1, 28-30 Mar 2004. 

This paper constitutes the first of a three part series examining the boom in the construction and renovation of K-12 schools and the continuing challenges that communities face in getting the facilities their students and educators need. Part 1 reports on the increase of school construction and renovation that began in 2002, despite a sagging economy. Experts say a host of factors have contributed to the boom, including construction bonds issued during the strong economy of the late 1990s, high-profile reports focusing attention on decaying education infrastructure, major renovations needed to handle new technology, equity lawsuits, and demographic shifts. A 1995 report by the General Accounting Office, which found that $112 billion was needed nationally to renovate or replace long-neglected schools to bring them up to code, became the rallying point for proponents of more spending on facilities. Creative financing methods are discussed, as well as potential problems in planning due to rapid growth. [For Part 2 of this series, "Under Construction," see EJ755610; for Part 3, see EJ755618.]

Saifer, Steffen; Speth, Timothy (2007).  Supplemental Educational Services and Implementation Challenges in the Northwest Region States. Issues & Answers. REL 2007-No. 006  [Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest] 

This report describes the initial efforts and current status of implementing supplemental educational services (SES) in the Northwest Region states, identifies information gaps and areas of further inquiry, and delineates concerns and challenges for the state education agencies. It is an exploratory effort to identify issues for deeper examination in follow-up work that will include direct inquiry in districts, schools, and providers. The objective is to present findings that can help states optimize implementation of supplemental educational services and ultimately improve academic achievement for students who qualify for supplemental educational services under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Children from low-income families attending Title I schools that fail to meet adequate yearly progress targets for three consecutive years are entitled to free tutoring known as supplemental educational services. Data were sought for the 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 school years from state education agencies, local education agencies, and school databases in the five Northwest Region states to address two key questions related to supplemental educational services and usage: (1) What are the supplemental educational services usage rates in the Northwest Region states, and how do these rates compare with usage rates nationally and regionally? and (2) What are some of the challenges for state education agencies in providing supplemental educational services with respect to participation, access to providers, monitoring and evaluation, and communication? Of the Northwest Region states Oregon had the highest SES usage rate and Montana the lowest in 2004-2005, the year for which the most complete and accurate data were available. All states except Oregon were below the regional and national averages. The regional usage rate is about one-third the national rate. While the SES participation rate increased nationally from 12 percent in 2003-2004 to 19 percent in 2004-2005, it increased from 4.3 percent to 6.5 percent in the Northwest Region, leaving the region further behind the national average. Each state education agency faces different challenges with supplemental educational services. These challenges are based on differences in the number of schools required to offer supplemental services, the numbers of schools in remote or rural areas, the person-hours and resources that state education agencies must devote to the effort, the skills of staff in charge of the effort, the availability of SES providers, the quality of providers and other factors. Several state SES coordinators indicated that the cost-benefit ratios of the services are currently unfavorable. While improvements have been made in providing services, significant common challenges remain for optimizing supplemental educational services for the students in the Northwest Region, including: (1) Increasing participation rates; (2) Adequately evaluating and monitoring SES providers; (3) Working more effectively with SES providers; and (4) Improving communication. An additional finding of the investigation is that the state education agency data systems are in need of improvement. Many state SES coordinators had difficulty getting accurate numbers. At times, district-level information differed from state-level information, and data tables on state education agency web sites had conflicting information. This made collecting reliable data on usage rates and providers difficult.  [This report was prepared for the National Center on Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education by Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest administered by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.] | [FULL TEXT]

Saito, Rebecca N. (2006).  Beyond Access and Supply: Youth-Led Strategies to Captivate Young People's Interest in and Demand for Youth Programs and Opportunities  New Directions for Youth Development, 2006, 112. 

Most people would probably agree that participation in quality youth programs and neighborhood-based, informal relationships and opportunities is a good thing for young people. The problem is that not nearly enough children and youth are engaged in these growth-enhancing opportunities. What can educators learn from young people about designing captivating opportunities for positive youth development? How can the unique expertise and perspectives of young people be unleashed to create effective marketing strategies to increase the interest and participation of their peers in these programs and relationships? These are the fundamental questions, the common threads that wind through the journey described in this article. The journey begins with focus groups with young people in rural, suburban, and urban communities in Minnesota, then moves to two youth community-mapping projects in which young people interviewed other youth in their community. These experiences led finally to a pilot project that moves beyond issues of supply and access to a social marketing project designed by and for young people.

Salamon, Sonya (2003).  From Hometown to Nontown: Rural Community Effects of Suburbanization  Rural Sociology, 68, 1. 

Regional suburbanization processes are transforming rural America socially and physically, threatening the uniqueness of small towns whose diversity is a national resource. This article reviews existing holistic descriptions of American rural communities since post-World War II by rural sociologists and anthropologists. Three new community case studies are briefly sketched--one "agrarian" in slow decline, another "postagrarian" where suburbanization is overwhelming agrarian traits, and a third that combines elements of both. With suburbanization, transformation into a generic nontown with the loss of place attachment and community identity is argued to have particularly negative effects for youth, whose socialization becomes privatized as parental civic engagement and general adult watchfulness decline. These changes constitute a community effect for rural youth analogous to the neighborhood effect richly documented by urban sociologists for inner-city youth. The suburbanization challenge is for small towns to resist homogenization of the vital aspects of agrarian community life they most cherish.

Salazar, Pamela S. (2007).  The Professional Development Needs of Rural High School Principals: A Seven-State Study  Rural Educator, 28, 3. 

The increased emphasis on standards-based school accountability since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is focusing critical attention on the professional development of school principals and their ability to meet the challenges of improving student outcomes. While rural school districts are dealing with many of the same issues facing urban districts, there are unique challenges that rural school principals face. However, effective professional development that addresses the unique needs of rural school leaders can build essential leadership capacity that supports school success. This article discusses the results of a study on the professional development needs of rural high school principals for school improvement. These findings provide direction for the development of professional development activities that will enhance the leadership skills that principals need to guide school reform and reach higher standards of student achievement.  | [FULL TEXT]

Salinas, Cinthia, Ed.; Franquiz, Maria E., Ed. (2004).  Scholars in the Field: The Challenges of Migrant Education. 

This book examines the challenges faced by migrant students and their families and by the educators, recruiters, and other professionals involved in helping these children succeed. Sections focus on the history of advocacy and legislation in migrant education, identification and recruitment, coordination of services, early childhood education, secondary education and credit accrual, parents' influence and participation, technology and distance education, and culturally and linguistically appropriate practices. Special attention is paid to the implications of No Child Left Behind for migrant education. Following a foreword by Leonard Baca and a preface, "Making Migrant Children and Migrant Education Visible," by Cinthia Salinas and Maria E. Franquiz, the chapters are: (1) "A History of Advocacy for Migrant Children and Their Families: More Than 30 Years in the Fields" (Angela Branz-Spall, Al Wright); (2) "The Legislation of Migrancy: Migrant Education in Our Courts and Government" (Eleni Pappamihiel); (3) "Identification and Recruitment: Trends and Issues" (Susan Duron); (4) "Ideas and Strategies for Identification and Recruitment" (Tom Hanley, Ray Melecio); (5) "Migrant Service Coordination: Effective Field-Based Practices" (Priscilla Canales, June Harris); (6) "Casa de la Esperanza: A Case Study of Service Coordination at Work in Colorado" (Maria E. Franquiz, Carlota Loya Hernandez); (7) "An Integrated Approach: Even Start Family Literacy Model for Migrant Families" (Patricia A. Ward, Maria E. Franquiz); (8) "Scholastic Demands on Intrastate and Interstate Migrant Secondary Students" (Jorge J. Solis); (9) "Graduation Enhancement and Postsecondary Opportunities for Migrant Students: Issues and Approaches" (Cinthia Salinas, Reynaldo Reyes); (10) "Bringing the Mountain to Mohammed: Parent Involvement in Migrant-Impacted Schools" (Gerardo R. Lopez); (11) "Against All Odds: Lessons from Parents of Migrant High-Achievers" (Roberto E. Trevino); (12) "Making Connections: Building Family Literacy through Technology" (Rosario Carrillo); (13) "Project SMART: Using Technology to Expand Educational Opportunities for Migrant Children" (Patricia Meyertholen, Sylvia V. Castro, Cinthia Salinas); (14) "Alternative Secondary Mathematics Programs for Migrant Students: Cultural and Linguistic Considerations" (Sylvia Celedon-Pattichis); (15) "Effective Instruction: Integrating Language and Literacy" (Iliana Alanis); (16) "The Challenge of Change: A Gringo Remembers Tough Choices" (Scott A. L. Beck); and (17) "Breaking Through in Migrant Education" (Blandina Cardenas). | [FULL TEXT]

Salka, William M. (2003).  Determinants of Countywide Voting Behavior on Environmental Ballot Measures: 1990-2000  Rural Sociology, 68, 2. 

There is considerable debate in the literature regarding the variables that produce differing levels of countywide support for environmental protection. Competing explanations include differences stemming from individual attributes of residents, economic conditions, and urban-rural differences. The present study examines why some counties express higher levels of support for environmental protection when voting on environmental ballot measures. Using voting data aggregated at the county level on state-wide environmental ballot measures in five states, OLS regression is employed to examine the utility of each explanation. The results suggest that while all three hypotheses are accurate in a number of cases and urban counties tend to be more supportive of environmental protection than rural counties, individual attributes and economic conditions appear to be the most influential.

Salyer, B. Keith; Curran, Christina; Thyfault, Alberta (2002).  What Can I Use Tomorrow? Strategies for Accessible Math and Science Curriculum for Diverse Learners in Rural Schools. 

Increased requirements for inclusion have created a growing demand for special educators to have content expertise in areas such as math and science. One recommended practice involves integrating the "big ideas" that are the foundation for understanding mathematics and science across the curriculum. Teachers also need to create a classroom climate that is supportive and content rich. Grouping students into pairs or triads supports student needs. Special educators can collaborate with other teachers by creating a bank of instructional activities on selected math and science topics. Collaborative strategies can be modeled through peer tutoring. Students should be encouraged to explore metacognitive thinking styles so they can apply metacognitive strategies to their daily lives. Skills outlined by standards should be presented in an order that makes sense to students in terms of context and cognitive organization. Nine steps are outlined for presenting content in an effective instructional sequence. Math and science textbooks require grade-level or above literacy skills. Many students, including those with disabilities, will benefit from study guides and outlines, graphic organizers, an introduction to key terms, audiotapes, and other assistive technology devices. Challenges to rural educators include inadequate resources and professional isolation. Advantages to rural educators include more cohesive groups of parents, teachers, and community members. Sidebars present practical tips and strategies for each topic discussed. . | [FULL TEXT]

Sambisa, William; Stokes, C. Shannon (2006).  Rural/Urban Residence, Migration, HIV/AIDS, and Safe Sex Practices among Men in Zimbabwe  Rural Sociology, 71, 2. 

The AIDS epidemic was initially thought to be primarily an urban phenomenon. However, migration between rural and urban areas has resulted in the spread of the virus to all segments of the population. Prevention efforts continue to focus on the ABCs of AIDS, namely, abstinence among young adults, being faithful within a monogamous relationship, and/or using condoms at each sexual encounter. We examine the effects of residence, migration status, and selected social and demographic variables on the use of these three practices among men in Zimbabwe, a nation experiencing one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world. Both residence and migration status were found to be significantly related to safe sex practices. Knowledge of a source with easy access to condoms was the strongest predictor of this behavior. Knowledge of prevention methods and experience with persons with AIDS also exerted significant effects, although not always in the manner hypothesized. Possible reasons for the findings and implications for policy are discussed.

Sampson, William A. (2005).  Black and Brown: Race, Ethnicity, and School Preparation  [Rowman & Littlefield Education] 

Here, author William A. Sampson examines the role of the family in the school preparation process among poor Blacks and Latinos. It is based upon the data collected during intense long-term observations of 21 disadvantaged minority students and families in their homes within the same community. The data suggests that the differences in performances are to a large degree a function of differences in the specific ways in which their parents (most often the mother) prepares them for the educational experience. When discipline, responsibility, delayed gratification, internal control, the value of education, and high self-esteem are emphasized consistently in the home, students tend to achieve. When the home environment is quiet, structured, and orderly, the students do well in school. Most importantly, when parents help their children with homework, the students excel. This book: (1) Frames the issues of the educational improvement; (2) Lays out the methodology; (3) Presents the data arranged by the academic performance of the students; (4) Presents a detailed analysis of the data and their impact upon both the debate over educational improvement and the theoretical issue of the link between race/ethnicity, social class, and education; and (5) Offers comparisons between poor Black families and poor Latino families. This book will be of interest to scholars in educational improvement, public school teachers, administrators, policy makers, and those concerned with social class and its ramifications. After the Preface, the author offers eight chapters as follows: (1) School Preparation among the Disadvantaged; (2) Research Methods: The Evanston Study; (3) Family Analysis for Multiple Student Families; (4) School Preparation and the Above-Average Student; (5) School Preparation and the Average Achievers; (6) School Preparation and the Low Achievers; (7) Do Schools Really Matter?; and (8) So What Does It Mean? The book ends with an Epilogue: A Return to the Beginning; Bibliography; Index; and About the Author.

Samuels, Christina A. (2006).  Advocacy for Parents Key to IDEA Case: Nonlawyer Has Long Fought to Join Due-Process Hearings and to Be Paid  Education Week, 25, 31. 

For years, Marilyn Arons, 67, has taught parents how to use the main federal special education law to get the most appropriate education for their children. And now, the role of experts such as Ms. Arons is at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case that will be heard next week. The case, which began in 1997, involves New York state's Arlington Central district of more than 10,000 students, which includes part of the town of Poughkeepsie, and eight other towns in the Hudson Valley. Pearl and Theodore Murphy battled the district over the (Individualized Education Program) IEP for their son, Joseph, now 22, who has multiple learning disabilities. The Murphys successfully argued that the district should pay for his private school tuition. During the due-process proceedings, the parents relied on the expertise of Ms. Arons.

Samuels, Michael E.; Xirasagar, Sudha; Elder, Keith T.; Probst, Janice C. (2008).  Enhancing the Care Continuum in Rural Areas: Survey of Community Health Center-Rural Hospital Collaborations  Journal of Rural Health, 24, 1. 

Context: Community Health Centers (CHCs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) play a significant role in providing health services for rural residents across the United States. Purpose: The overall goal of this study was to identify the CAHs that have collaborations with CHCs, as well as to recognize the content of the collaborations and the barriers and facilitators to collaborations. Methods: The target population was CAHs within 60 miles of CHCs. Surveys were mailed to 386 chief executive officers of CAHs in 41 states who met the study criteria. The response rate was 40.9%. A descriptive analysis using chi-square tests compared the status of partnerships along with factors identified as barriers and facilitators to collaboration. Findings: Out of the 161 CAH respondents, 24 (14.9%) reported having a collaborative agreement with a CHC, and 2 indicated that they planned to develop a collaborative agreement. A common reason given for not collaborating was lack of awareness of a CHC within the service area. Other barriers identified were competition with CHCs and organizational differences. External funding to start a collaborating service was the most frequently cited factor to facilitate collaborations. Conclusions: The findings indicate that collaborations between CAHs and CHCs are a largely untapped resource. The rural health care services continuum may benefit from increased collaborations.

Sanchez, Patricia (2007).  Cultural Authenticity and Transnational Latina Youth: Constructing a Meta-Narrative across Borders  Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal, 18, 3-4. 

The data in this article comes from a larger 3-year ethnographic study that examines the transnational immigrant lives of second-generation Latina youth whose families reside in northern California and maintain close ties to small rural communities in western Mexico. In the course of the study, three bilingual youth and I developed a participatory research project where students became researchers of their transnational communities. Findings depict how immigrant students use different language and literacy practices to represent themselves and author a meta-narrative about the U.S.-Mexico transnational experience. Family and community narratives are not only an iterative practice in this cross-border setting but also inscribed in certain household artifacts. This work suggests that sustained transnational contact with communities in Mexico provides linguistic and cultural resources for U.S. immigrant children that schools often overlook.

Sandel, Kate; Bhat, Soumya (2008).  Financing and Sustaining Out-of-School Time Programs in Rural Communities  [Finance Project] 

Leaders of programs serving rural America need to act strategically to ensure the long-term success of their initiatives. This strategy brief describes the funding landscape of rural programs and highlights the unique challenges confronting rural program leaders. It describes the different public and private resources that can support out-of-school time programming and identifies key strategies that can be used to finance and sustain these programs in rural communities.  | [FULL TEXT]

Sander, Wesley F. (2005).  One-Track Minds  Teacher Magazine, 17, 1. 

This article talks about how a teacher from Rail Road Flat Elementary School, Randall Youngblood, handles his class of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders through discipline. Discipline and the kind of teach-to-the-test learning that has become endemic in the era of No Child Left Behind has kept his students' energy channeled. Such rote learning often gets frowned upon in the schools of better-educated, more affluent communities. But in a 549-person town named for a type of mule-driven rail-and-mining-cart arrangement that has been obsolete for a hundred years, it is working. Accepting setbacks and persevering despite them is a useful object lesson, but he knows that discipline and hard work will get anyone only so far. He sees the patterns repeat themselves--former students faltering, dropping out, getting into trouble. Once his 6th graders leave his classroom of order and learning, bound for adolescence in the shadow of poverty and few appealing job prospects, he knows there is nothing he can do to keep their worlds from crumbling around them. He just have to assure them as best he can that they will succeed.

Sanders, Cynthia K. (2004).  Employment Options for Low-Income Women: Microenterprise versus the Labor Market  Social Work Research, 28, 2. 

This study builds on research that examines the effects of microenterprise on poor women in the United States. Household income, income from the business, and poverty status were examined over time and comparisons were drawn among three groups of women: low-income women who participated in one of seven U.S. microenterprise assistance programs; low-income self-employed women not attached to microenterprise assistance programs; and low-income women working but not self-employed. The findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of microenterprise assistance programs as an antipoverty strategy in the United States. However, women in the three groups moved out of poverty at the same rate. Policy, program, and practice implications are discussed.

Sanderson, Michael (2007).  Educational and Economic History: The Good Neighbours  History of Education, 36, 4-5. 

The disciplines of economic history and the history of education have drawn closer since the 1960s. This engagement has led to fresh thematic contributions--the role of literacy and education in the Industrial Revolution and industrialization generally, how far its neglect underlay the "decline" of Britain since 1870, the relation of education to the changing labour market for women, the culpability of education in Britain's poor growth performance 1945-1990. New methodological approaches have also been encouraged, notably in exploring the connection between education and social mobility since the nineteenth century. The most economic-minded historians have sought to relate education to changes in the quality of labour, productivity and economic growth and rates of return on investment in education. Future developments may include an assessment of the 1960s "new" universities, more regional work on literacy, attention to the area between formal education and the labour market. Differences in approach from the statistically econometric to the archive-based narrative and assessments of policy both illuminate the subject.

Sanderson, Von; Allard, Andrea (2003).  "Research as Dialogue" and Cross-Cultural Consultations: Confronting Relations of Power.  Australian Educational Researcher, 30, 1. 

A South Australian research project examining assimilationist frameworks in Aboriginal education sought to empower the rural Aboriginal community through participation in the project. Issues that emerged included the influence of funding on research for social change; the shaping of knowledge/power relations through project design and implementation; and the positioning of the researchers in relation to participants.

Sargent, Tanja; Hannum, Emily (2005).  Keeping Teachers Happy: Job Satisfaction among Primary School Teachers in Rural Northwest China  Comparative Education Review, 49, 2. 

Through a study of teacher job satisfaction in impoverished rural areas in northwest China, the authors examine the factors leading to satisfaction among teachers serving poor rural communities. A survey of rural primary school teachers, principals, and village leaders conducted in the year 2000 in Gansu is analyzed. In this article, the authors test whether younger and better-educated teachers have lower levels of satisfaction. In addition, the authors hypothesize that female teachers, married teachers, teachers who are more highly ranked, and those who are more socially similar to their surrounding communities are more satisfied. To test these hypotheses, the authors consider teacher age, gender, marital status, level of education, rank, place of origin, and whether or not the teacher is also a farmer. This article is a first attempt at understanding the job satisfaction of primary school teachers in rural China, and there is a need for much further research. Most valuable will be follow-up interviews with satisfied teachers in remote rural areas as well as with teachers who left teaching for other jobs.

Satsangi, M. (2005).  Landowners and the Structure of Affordable Housing Provision in Rural Scotland  Journal of Rural Studies, 21, 3. 

This paper looks at the behaviour of private landowners in rural Scotland in relation to housing supply, particularly renting and low-cost housing. The theme is one that has received relatively little research. In consequence, the paper is set in the context of two rather broader traditions in the literature of examining investor/developer behaviour and of studying rural social structure. The paper presents and analyses data from a national study of landowners' views and attitudes to housing supply undertaken in 1999-2000. Its principal findings are that the motivations of this key group of suppliers are rarely as simple as assumed in some conventional analyses, and in some important senses may be counter-intuitive. It is argued that non-pecuniary motives are critical in understanding behaviour.

Satterlee, Donna J.; Cormons, Grace D. (2008).  Sparking Interest in Nature--Family Style  Young Children, 63, 1. 

This article describes SPARK (Shore People Advancing Readiness for Knowledge), a nature-based program designed to advance literacy and environmental knowledge in a rural Virginia county that has long been combating generational poverty and low literacy. SPARK engages children between the ages of 3 and 7 and their families in nature learning. The program is a collaboration between the Adult Education Program at Eastern Shore Community College in Melfa, Virginia, and the Accomack County Schools, with support funds from Even Start and Title 1. The SPARK program has grown from serving 25 families in 1998 to involving more than 200 today from a broad range of ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds. Its purpose is to encourage and teach parents how to become involved in their children's education. To achieve this goal, experiential learning activities are provided by using nature as an outdoor classroom and the main learning theme.

Saulawa, Danjuma R.; Johnson, Joyce C. (2001).  A Preliminary Investigation of Teachers' Perspective on Parental Involvement in Children's Literacy Development in the Black Belt Region. 

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which teachers in the Black Belt Region of a southeastern state feel that parents should be involved in curricular decisions, the ways in which they involve parents in the literacy development of their children, and the three most important ways they felt that parents could be involved in order to support the literacy development of their children. An additional purpose of the study was to find out if there was a difference between primary, upper elementary, middle school, and high school teachers in their views about parental involvement. A 3-item open questionnaire was sent through graduate students representing 21 schools from the Black Belt Region of Alabama. A total of 168 teachers responded and returned the questionnaire. The preliminary results indicated ambivalence about parental involvement among the teachers. While the majority of teachers indicated a support for parental involvement, the extent and the nature of parental involvement seemed to vary with grade levels.   | [FULL TEXT]

Sauvageot, Claude; Da Graca, Patricia Dias (2007).  Using Indicators in Planning Education for Rural People: A Practical Guide  [International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) UNESCO] 

Despite all the efforts deployed by the countries of the world and the vigorous mobilization of the international community, rural people are lagging far behind in education and are particularly hard hit by poverty and hunger. In developing countries, the slow progress towards universal education is largely due to the sluggish growth of school enrollment among rural people, and the consequent persistence of very low enrollment rates in rural areas. The poverty, hunger and underdevelopment afflicting rural areas are holding back educational development. These instances of interdependence illustrate the complementarity of goal 1 (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger) with goal 2 (achieving universal primary education) of the Millennium Development Goals as well as with the Education for All (EFA) goals. This guide sets out the principles and techniques used to develop tools specifically for the monitoring and guidance or rural education strategies, focusing more particularly on the development of a coherent set of indicators to monitor national education strategies for rural people. Another aim of the guide is to promote transparency in the use of the considerable resources that have been, and continue to be, allocated to educational development for rural people. Although the guide mainly concerns the national level, some guidelines will be provided on producing similar sets of indicators to measure regional diversity within a country. Includes appendix: Strategic Goals and Secondary Objectives: Examples.  | [FULL TEXT]

Savage, Andrew; Isham, Jonathan; Klyza, Chistopher McGrory (2005).  The Greening of Social Capital: An Examination of Land-Based Groups in Two Vermont Counties  Rural Sociology, 70, 1. 

By undertaking a census of all agricultural, outdoor recreational, and environmental groups (land-based groups) in two adjacent counties in Vermont, we demonstrate the dramatic increase of local environmental groups in the last 15 years. Building on the methodologies of Kempton et al. (2001), we first show that official lists of nonprofit groups from the Vermont Secretary of State, the Internal Revenue Service, and local grassroots directories significantly undercount local environmental groups. Second, we show that since the mid 1980s, the number and membership roles of local autonomous environmental groups have grown rapidly relative to all other types of local and nonlocal land-based groups in these counties. This article provides preliminary evidence of the recent "greening of social capital."

Sawh, Natasha; Charron, Jocelyn (2003).  L'acces des jeunes de regions rurales aux etudes postsecondaires (The Access of Youth from Rural Areas to Postsecondary Studies).  Education Canada, 43, 3. 

The access to postsecondary education that is offered to students in rural areas differs significantly from the access available to urban students. An overview is given of the various factors and structural obstacles influencing rural access to postsecondary education, including aspirations, college preparation, socioeconomic characteristics of family and community, structure of the postsecondary education system, and distance issues. Recommendations are offered for reducing the rural disadvantage.

Sayed, Yusuf; Soudien, Crain (2005).  Decentralisation and the Construction of Inclusion Education Policy in South Africa  Compare A Journal of Comparative Education, 35, 2. 

This paper critically reviews the ways in which the policy of education decentralisation in post-apartheid South Africa results in both forms of inclusion and new forms of exclusion. Drawing on a two-year research project carried out in three provinces in South Africa, it shows how in the governance of schools, new forms of exclusion are being generated. It thus throws into sharp relief the policy effects of education decentralisation in South Africa, illuminating through case study data the disjuncture between policy intention and effect. It argues for the need to re-examine some aspects of post-apartheid education policy given the historical apartheid legacy. It suggests that often, in practice, policies of education decentralisation may exacerbate rather than reduce inequities in society; they may exclude more than include.

Schady, Norbert (2006).  Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3869  [World Bank Publications] 

There is considerable evidence that young children in many developing countries suffer from profound deficits in nutrition, health, fine and gross motor skills, cognitive development, and socio-emotional development. Early childhood development (ECD) outcomes are important markers of the welfare of children. In addition, the deleterious effects of poor outcomes in early childhood can be long-lasting, affecting school attainment, employment, wages, criminality, and measures of social integration of adults. This paper considers the theoretical case to be made for investments in early childhood, selectively reviews the literature on the impact of ECD programs in the United States, discusses the evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean, and makes suggestions for future research. The focus is on the relation between outcomes in early childhood and measures of household socioeconomic status, child health, and parenting practices, as well as on the impact of specific policies and programs. The knowledge base on early childhood outcomes is still thin in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are therefore very high returns to comparative descriptive analysis in the region, as well as to careful evaluations of the impact of various programs.

Schafer, Mark J. (2005).  Family Contributions to Self Help Schooling in Malawi and Kenya  Rural Sociology, 70, 1. 

In the 1908s and 1990s African societies responded to reduced state educational capacity by expanding the reach of civil society--non-state societal organizations that sought to organize individuals and mobilize local resources for education and development. In this paper, I argue that rural African families were differentially prepared to respond to these changes in state-society relations. I develop a model of family contributions to self help schooling that integrates a range of theoretical perspectives emphasizing the importance of social capital, family economy, family background, and family structure. Then, I utilize original, household survey data to apply the model across diverse national and regional contexts. One major analytical finding points to the importance of family memberships in local civil society for predicting self help schooling. Another contribution of the paper is that it demonstrates both similarities and differences in factors influencing family contributions to self help schooling across nations and regions.

Schafft, Kai A. (2005).  The Incidence and Impacts of Student Transiency in Upstate New York's Rural School Districts  Journal of Research in Rural Education, 20, 15. 

Chronic student mobility, and in particular the mobility of students from low-income backgrounds, poses a serious yet underdocumented problem for rural schools. This article combines analyses of state-level school district data with survey and interview data to examine the patterns of low-income student mobility in upstate New York, and to assess the impacts on, and responses by, schools and other community institutions. The incidence and effects of student mobility are particularly pronounced in smaller, limited-resource districts. School district administrators report significant negative consequences due to the fiscal and administrative costs associated with high-need, highly mobile students. Student transiency not only requires extra administrative resources from teachers, guidance counselors, and other school staff, but the unpredictability of the movement vastly complicates planning and budgeting processes. Results portray a significant, high-need segment of the upstate New York population that is largely unrecognized, untargeted, and both socially and academically at risk.

Schafft, Kai A. (2006).  Poverty, Residential Mobility, and Student Transiency within a Rural New York School District  Rural Sociology, 71, 2. 

Human capital models assume residential mobility is both voluntary and opportunity-driven. Residential mobility of low income households, however, often does not fit these assumptions. Often characterized by short-distance, high frequency movement, poverty-related mobility may only deepen the social and economic instability that precipitated the movement in the first place. Children may be particularly affected because of disrupted social and academic environments. Among community institutions, schools often experience significant student turnover as a consequence. This paper presents a case study of student transiency and residential instability within an impoverished rural New York school district, examining both enrollment change data and residential histories collected from economically disadvantaged parents of mobile students. It finds that poverty-related mobility is frequently not voluntary but the consequence of precipitating social and economic crises at the household level in combination with the inability to obtain adequate and affordable housing. Hence, poverty-related hypermobility may be interpreted as both a consequence and determinant of rural community disadvantage.

Schafft, Kai A.; Alter, Theodore R.; Bridger, Jeffrey C. (2006).  Bringing the Community Along: A Case Study of a School District's Information Technology Rural Development Initiative  Journal of Research in Rural Education, 21, 8. 

We draw on interactional community theory to analyze the relationship between information technology and local development through a case study of a geographically isolated and economically disadvantaged rural school district. This district has used state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure in a broad-based community and economic development effort. We assess community outcomes across three dimensions: educational improvement, community identity, and economic development. We find that this effort has had significant positive effects on the first two dimensions, but economic impacts have been far less pronounced, raising questions about telecommunications technology as the new catalyst for rural economic revitalization.

Schmidt, Martina (2004).  Rural Roots, Urban Harvest, and Giving Back to the Land. Occasional Paper No. 8  [Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics, Ohio University (ACCLAIM)] 

This paper is the personal journey of one teacher from a rural childhood, through a small university, to a rural school, and eventually to the city. It contrasts the intense challenges that rural teachers and students face with the unique opportunities afforded them by virtue of being rural. It includes an attempt to piece together the factors that influence high teacher transience rates in rural areas, a discussion of the pedagogical restrictions and freedoms offered by rural areas, and an exploration of possible ways that rural areas could reach out to their urban counterparts to help city kids understand their own inescapable connection to the land. Factors affecting transience rates include: (a) social isolation, long commutes, or both, (b) professional isolation, (c) demanding workloads as small staffs struggle to cover school responsibilities, (d) limited employment opportunities for life partners to find work in the same community, and (e) lack of long-term connection to the land. Pedagogical restrictions include (a) multi-graded classrooms, (b) demanding workloads, (c) limited budgets, (d) lack of professional support, and (e) the adverse impact of teacher transience on program continuity. Conversely, country schools offer many benefits: (a) small class sizes, which provide a unique opportunity to better understand children and how they think, (b) the potential for real-life contexts in which to embed many classroom experiences, (c) a less-restricted environment in which to explore innovative ways of teaching, and (d) a potential source of rich outreach to urban children regarding the world's food supply and our own connection to and dependence upon the land. | [FULL TEXT]

Schneider, Autumn (2004).  Teaching Drama in a Rural Setting: A Comedy of Errors in Three Acts  English Journal, 93, 6. 

An experience on teaching a drama class and staging performances with available resources is described. Some of the more challenging circumstances are highlighted and it is demonstrated that a sense of humor and community support is needed for the show to go on.

Schoenberg, Nancy E.; Hatcher, Jennifer; Dignan, Mark B. (2008).  Appalachian Women's Perceptions of Their Community's Health Threats  Journal of Rural Health, 24, 1. 

Context: Decades of behavioral research suggest that awareness of health threats is a necessary precursor to engage in health promotion and disease prevention, findings that can be extended to the community level. Purpose: We sought to better understand local perspectives on the main health concerns of rural Appalachian communities in order to identify the key health priorities. While Kentucky Appalachian communities are often described as suffering from substandard health, resource, and socioeconomic indicators, strong traditions of community mobilization make possible positive, home-grown change. Methods: To assess what women, the key health gatekeepers, perceive as the most significant health threats to their rural communities, 10 focus groups were held with 52 Appalachian women from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Tape-recorded narratives were content analyzed and a codebook was developed. Measures designed to increase data trustworthiness included member checks, negative case evidence, and multiple coding. Findings: The following rank-ordered conditions emerged as posing the greatest threat to the health of rural Appalachian communities: (1) drug abuse/medication dependence; (2) cancer; (3) heart disease and diabetes (tied); (4) smoking; (5) poor diet/overweight; (6) lack of exercise; and (7) communicable diseases. These health threats were described as specific to the local environment, deriving from broad ecological problems and were connected to one another. Conclusion: Drawing on participants' community-relevant suggestions, we suggest ways in which rural communities may begin to confront these health concerns. These suggestions range from modest, individual-level changes to broader structural-level recommendations.

Schoppmeyer, Martin W., Sr. (2004).  No Clique Left Behind: Arkansas's Answer to the Court Order  Journal of Education Finance, 30, 2. 

Canadian humorist Steven Leacock once told a story about a jockey who became so upset over bad news that he leaped on his horse and rode off in all directions. According to this author, that action well summarizes the condition of the State of Arkansas after receiving a Supreme Court order to provide an equal and adequate education to the children of the state. The first direction was taken by the governor, who claimed that the court decision demanded large-scale consolidation. A legislative committee took the second direction. It employed two out-of-state consultants who did not mention the matter of consolidation and were far from the governor's position, recommending $847 million in added expenditures, which did not include facilities. A group of larger district superintendents accounted for the third direction. They based their proposal for consolidation on what they called efficiency. The rural schools took a fourth direction. They opposed consolidation but demanded the equal and adequate funding ordered by the state. The plaintiff in the finance suit, Lake View, a tiny African American district, went in a fifth direction. It noted that it had brought the suit not to be consolidated or called inefficient but to end the savage inequalities in Arkansas education still being ignored by others. The new law passed following this lawsuit, the author contends, repeats the same error as its predecessors: It retains the idea that equity means an equal per student state aid distribution. Making variations in the aid per pupil on the basis of their percentage in a school district rather than an individual school disadvantages poor children in a largely poor school in a large district.

Schramm-Pate, Susan L.; Lussier, Richard (2004).  Teaching Students How to Think Critically: The Confederate Flag Controversy in the High School Social Studies Classroom  High School Journal, 87, 2. 

The racially tinged Confederate flag debate in South Carolina is viewed as a signifier of more popular struggles over the representation of "southern heritage" and under girds the social studies unit described in this paper. The unit was designed to teach the curriculum from a popular cultural, issues-oriented perspective using critical pedagogical techniques. Using the Confederate battle flag as an organizing theme, the unit's substantive components include critical and reflective exercises such as journaling, debating, writing essays, researching, and role-playing. Both traditional assessment strategies as well as alternative assessment strategies (e.g., portfolio development, free-writes, and performances) were used to determine students' learning and interests. The unit was taught in a conservative, rural, working-class, majority White, upstate South Carolina school setting. This approach enabled the students within the blue-collar population to think critically and reflectively about their own positions, privileges, attitudes, beliefs, and "heritages," as well as see that democracy in action is painful at times, messy, and even embarrassing, but necessary if society is to reach inclusive compromises.

Schreiber, Dorothee (2003).  Salmon Farming and Salmon People: Identity and Environment in the Leggatt Inquiry  American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 27, 4. 

In October of 2001, the Leggatt Inquiry into salmon farming traveled to four small communities (Port Hardy, Tofino, Alert Bay, and Campbell River) close to the centers of operation for the finfish aquaculture industry in British Columbia. In doing so, it gave local people, particularly First Nations people, an opportunity to speak about salmon farming using their own vocabularies, styles of speaking, and forms of knowledge. Their testimony, however, was about much more than salmon farming. In fact, most of the talk at the inquiry focused upon people's sense of place and community, and their understandings of their way of life. In particular, the inquiry brought to light the legal and political context in which the salmon farming industry operates. This paper focuses on narratives that in technical and scientific circles would probably be considered rambling, anecdotal, and off the subject. The author's analysis of the Leggatt Inquiry tries to give voice to the Native people who appeared at the inquiry by showing that, while they are certainly the victims of continued intrusions into their territories and ways of life, they are not passive bystanders in the process. Instead, the aboriginal people who spoke about salmon farming at the inquiry creatively and strategically employed a variety of devices that would help others see the controversy over salmon farming as they themselves did.

Schreiber, Dorothee (2006).  First Nations, Consultation, and the Rule of Law: Salmon Farming and Colonialism in British Columbia  American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 30, 4. 

Many coastal First Nations communities, particularly in British Columbia, see consultation as a positive way of getting around the firmly entrenched position of both provincial and federal governments on fish farming. Even those Native groups such as the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council (MTTC) and the Homalco First Nation, who are adamantly opposed to any open net fish farming in their waters, eagerly engage in consultation. The Native response to unsatisfactory interactions with the provincial ministry and fish-farming companies is most often a call for further consultation or a declaration that exchanges worthy of being called "consultation" have not yet taken place. In this article, the author explores the gap between the promise of consultation and the ways in which consultation serves to entrench rather than overcome the colonial relationships of the past. She points out the possible pitfalls of a cooperative strategy--"consultation"--that appears to have placed the burden of creating consensus between settlers and First Nations squarely on the shoulders of Native peoples and their continued cooperation with the property and productive arrangements of the status quo. She concludes by recognizing that consultation, as a social practice, often works as a tactic of repression rather than as a means of protecting Aboriginal title and rights, but that the government of Canada may be able to transform the practice of consultation and thereby make progress toward a just and long-term resolution of Native peoples' claims.

Schultz, James E. (2002).  Mathematics Education in Rural Communities in Light of Current Trends in Mathematics Education. Working Paper. 

Despite the considerable efforts now under way to improve our nation's mathematics education for all students, students in rural settings do not receive their share of attention. This paper considers school mathematics in rural communities in the larger context of current reform from a number of perspectives, including curricular materials, selected recent publications, achievement data, and a teacher enhancement project. The paper consists of six sections. First, a sampling of current attention to mathematics education in rural settings reveals a scarcity of rural references in secondary mathematics texts and in National Council of Mathematics Teachers materials. However, the National Science Foundation recently funded two mathematics projects with a rural focus, serving Appalachia and sparsely populated areas of the West. Second, National Assessment of Educational Progress data show that the performance of urban fringe/large town students consistently leads that of rural/small town students, which in turn leads that of central city students. The third and fourth sections describe current efforts to reform mathematics education to better serve all students and outline the arguments of the backlash movement, which sees the reforms as aggravating the problem of low mathematics achievement. The fifth and sixth sections summarize a report on mathematics teaching and learning in three types of poor communities--urban, rural, and Native American--and describe the Moving on Mathematically project at Ohio University, 1997-99. This project provided teacher professional development activities in curriculum, technology, and assessment as a means of improving mathematics instruction in low performing rural districts. | [FULL TEXT]

Schultz, Lara E. (2007).  The Influence of Maternal Loss on Young Women's Experience of Identity Development in Emerging Adulthood  Death Studies, 31, 1. 

A qualitative approach was used to study the influence of adolescent maternal loss on identity development in 6 young women. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed for recurrent themes. Three metathemes emerged from the narratives: Loss of Mother Impacts Identity, Relatedness on the Path of Identity Development, and Integration of Loss into Emergent Identity. Findings indicate that the experience of maternal loss influenced aspects of the women's identity development and initiated a need to seek new connections and redefine aspects of self in order to integrate the loss. Practical implications of these findings are presented for clinicians who work with bereaved young women.

Schultz, Patrick F. (2004).  Upon Entering College: First Semester Experiences of First-Generation Rural Students from Agricultural Families  Rural Educator, 26, 1. 

First-generation and rural college students are considered by many retention theorists and practitioners to be an at-risk population. This study examined the details of the first semester in postsecondary education from the perspective of a group of students who met the demographic criteria of being first-generation to go to college, from rural geographical areas, and from agricultural backgrounds. It focused on the first semester experience, during its occurrence, and how six students of this specific population viewed that phenomenon. A secondary objective was to determine if the understandings that issued from the research could form a foundation from which first semester retention strategies for this particular population could be configured. | [FULL TEXT]

Schultz, T. Paul (2001).  School Subsidies for the Poor: Evaluating the Mexican Progresa Poverty Program. Center Discussion Paper. 

In rural Mexico, the Progresa program provided educational grants to poor mothers of children enrolled in grades 3-9 and attending 85 percent of the school days. Payments were increased at the higher grades, a premium was paid for girls enrolled in grades 7-9, and every 6 months the grants were adjusted upward to compensate for inflation. The grants were substantial; a family with a ninth-grade daughter received an amount equal to 44 percent of a typical day-laborer's wage. This paper evaluates the program's effect on enrollment in 1998-2000, during which the program was implemented randomly in 314 of the 495 poorest rural villages in central and southern Mexico. Analysis focused on a panel sample of 19,716 children who could be followed and matched in five household surveys conducted between October 1997 and November 1999. Before the program started, Progresa villages and control villages did not differ significantly in enrollment rates of poor children. In the 3 survey rounds collected after September 1998, Progresa had a significant impact on the enrollment of each group of children who had completed grades 1-6 the previous year, with differences often greater for girls than boys. The cumulative cohort effect on schooling attainment was estimated to be 0.66 years. Progresa also significantly reduced the poor-nonpoor inequality in enrollment rates for grades 4-6. An appendix analyzes Progresa's effects on child labor and fertility rates. | [FULL TEXT]

Schuytema, Paul (2007).  The Need for a Dynamic Rural Web Presence. Rural Research Report. Volume 18, Issue 6, Spring 2007  [Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs] 

This paper explores how rural communities with limited financial resources and technical expertise can have a useful Web page along with the ability for community and business leaders to maintain this presence. The tools to be employed are not new to the Web, but they may be considered "cutting edge" when it comes to a rural community's Web presence. The goal is to build the capacity of small communities--to give them the tools to be able to grow and prosper. As this program was initiated, it was thought that building capacity required teaching community members to become programmers of this new Web technology. This approach proved to be flawed as the gap in the required technical skills exceeded expectations. The case studies demonstrated that everybody was better served by the creation of a foundational, dynamic website, devoid of style or content but built to be functional. With the core site in place, the community could be trained to utilize these tools to add content and personality to the site and to grow the site from something sterile to something that truly reflected the community's personality and goals. This approach can empower communities to create, edit, and maintain their own content, and to have full ownership of their website, its content, and its message. Not only will these communities have a site that serves their needs today, but with this new capacity, they will be able to maintain and enhance the site going forward on their own. Based on the results that can observed on the Web, and the reactions of the communities who have participated in this program, it appears the program described has helped meet a very real need. During the first year, 12 organizations were served in seven communities. Already, many new websites have "gone live" and the others are on their way. By combining the hard work of community leaders with an innovative results-oriented process and a suite of tools built on open source technologies, those communities involved are already starting to see results.

Scott, Alister; Christie, Michael; Midmore, Peter (2004).  Impact of the 2001 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak in Britain: Implications for Rural Studies  Journal of Rural Studies, 20, 1. 

This paper assesses the impact of the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in terms of its implications for the discipline of rural studies. In particular, it focuses on the position of agriculture in rural economy and society, the standing of the government after its management of the outbreak, and the performance of the new devolved regional tiers of government. After a brief review of the history and aggregate impact of the outbreak, the general themes of the paper are explored from a range of Welsh case-study evidence, showing the impact on farm structures and the environment, rural communities and their social life. The major conclusions are that the unanticipated magnitude of effect of the outbreak should direct more attention to the nature of the space shared as a public good by agriculture and rural tourism; that the loss of trust in administrations as a result of the specific management of the outbreak reveals scope for new approaches in the study of governance and partnership at a rural level; and the opportunity for the devolved administrations to emphasise a difference in perspective, on both the outbreak and rural issues in general, highlights potentially widening fault-lines in the constitutional reform process, especially as discussion over the future of European rural policies proceed.

Scott, Mark (2004).  Building Institutional Capacity in Rural Northern Ireland: The Role of Partnership Governance in the LEADER II Programme  Journal of Rural Studies, 20, 1. 

Throughout the 1990s, Europe's rural areas increasingly embraced local action and local development solutions to face the challenge of the continued re-structuring of the agricultural industry. In parallel, in both the EU and the UK, a policy discourse has emerged which envisages a fundamental shift in support policies for rural areas from a sectoral approach (essentially agriculture) to one that is territorial. At the vanguard of these developments has been the EC's LEADER Programme. From a low base of entrepreneurial activity in rural Northern Ireland, LEADER area-based local action groups have acted as beacons for developing new approaches to diversifying the rural economy--in particular stimulating a significant reappraisal of the rural resource base. This paper charts the operational terrain of LEADER local action groups in the Province, suggesting that their strengths have been in developing the institutional capacity of rural communities and brokering connections in the local economy. Examples will be considered which illustrate enhanced coordination and collaboration of local economic actors and sectoral interests, and a strong facilitator role for LEADER groups in the local arena, with an explicit rural focus. The paper argues that this multi-level collaborative activity is rooted in partnership governance, enabling a communicative process among local stakeholders.

Scribner, Alicia Paredes; Scribner, Jay D. (2001).  High-Performing Schools Serving Mexican American Students: What They Can Teach Us. ERIC Digest. 

A study examined the characteristics of successful schools along the Texas-Mexico border, where high percentages of students were Mexican American, came from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and had limited English proficiency. Three elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools were selected on the basis of the following criteria: enrollment of at least 66.6 percent Mexican American students, above-average standardized test scores on the Texas state assessment system, and state or national recognition. In many ways, these high-performing schools were similar to other effective schools identified in the literature and were typically characterized as communities of learners. However, study schools differed from other successful schools in at least four areas, which are the focus of this digest. These areas are: (1) collaborative relationships with parents and communities that built on Mexican American cultural values and communication styles and recognized the needs of diverse populations; (2) collaborative governance that empowered teachers and emphasized accountability; (3) student-centered classroom environments in which teacher did "what it takes" to help students succeed; and (4) advocacy-oriented assessment practices to avoid misplacement of limited-English-speaking students in special education. | [FULL TEXT]

Scrivener, Susan; Azurdia, Gilda; Page, Jocelyn (2005).  The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Results from the South Carolina ERA Site  [MDRC] 

Although much is known about how to help welfare recipients find jobs, little is known about how to help them and other low-wage workers keep jobs or advance in the labor market. This report presents information on the effectiveness of a program in South Carolina that aimed to help former welfare recipients obtain jobs, work more steadily, and move up in the labor market. The program was run as part of the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project, which is testing 15 programs across the country. The ERA project was conceived by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); it is being conducted by MDRC under contract to HHS, with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The following are appended: (1) Supplementary Table for Chapter 1; (2) Notes for Tables and Figures Displaying Results Calculated with Administrative Records Data; (3) Supplementary Materials from the South Carolina ERA Program; (4) Notes for Tables and Figures Displaying Impacts Calculated with Responses to the ERA 12-Month Survey; (5) Supplementary Tables for Chapter 4; and (6) South Carolina ERA 12-Month Survey Response Analysis. | [FULL TEXT]

Sealander, Karen; Medina, Catherine; Gamble, Armanda; Pettigrew, Bobbie; Snyder, Maria; White, Sherri; Begay, Mary Helen; Bradley, Brian; Bradley-Wilkinson, Evangeline; Heimbecker, Connie; McCarty, Nellie; Nelson, Bernita; Nelson, Jacob; Smith, Jody; Whitehair, Marsha; Redsteer, Denise; Prater, Greg (2001).  Early Childhood Intervention Partnerships on the Navajo Reservation with an Emphasis on Special Education. 

Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) is located in the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. In addition to serving over 2,600 K-12 students, KUSD collaborates with the Navajo Nation and the Kayenta community to provide three early childhood education programs: Acceptance Belonging Caring (ABC) preschool, Navajo Nation Head Start, and Child Care Occupational Parenting Education Center (COPE). Program staff, support facilitators, and parents completed short surveys about the three programs, including provision of special education services. ABC and Head Start shared many similarities and differed from COPE in various ways. ABC and Head Start enrolled children aged 3-5, offered special education intervention services, and advocated a fully inclusive environment. COPE, on the other hand, provided child care vocational training for high school students and extended child care services to all community members, including free services to teen parents attending school. COPE did not offer special education services but made referrals to ABC and Head Start. All three programs incorporated Navajo language and culture, and parents and staff unanimously stated that the programs were successful. | [FULL TEXT]

Sears, Jeanne M.; Wickizer, Thomas M.; Franklin, Gary M.; Cheadle, Allen D.; Berkowitz, Bobbie (2008).  Expanding the Role of Nurse Practitioners: Effects on Rural Access to Care for Injured Workers  Journal of Rural Health, 24, 2. 

Context: A 3-year pilot program to expand the role of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the Washington State workers' compensation system was implemented in 2004 (SHB 1691), amid concern about disparities in access to health care for injured workers in rural areas. SHB 1691 authorized NPs to independently perform most functions of an attending physician. Purpose: The aims of this study were to (1) describe the contribution by NPs to Washington's workers' compensation provider workforce, (2) evaluate change in provider availability attributable to SHB 1691, and (3) evaluate the effect of SHB 1691 on timely accident report filing. Methods: Administrative data were used to evaluate this natural experiment, using a pre-post design with primary care physicians (PCPs) as a nonequivalent comparison group. Findings: NPs served injured workers with characteristics similar to those served by PCPs, but 22.0% of NPs were rural, compared with 17.3% of PCPs. Of claimants with NPs as their attending provider, 53.3% were injured in a rural county, compared with 24.7% for those with PCP attending providers. The number of NPs participating in the workers' compensation system rose after SHB 1691 implementation, more so in rural areas. SHB 1691 implementation was associated with a 16 percentage point improvement in timely accident report filing by NPs in both rural and urban areas. Conclusions: Authorizing NPs to function as attending providers for injured workers may improve provider availability (especially in rural areas) and timely accident report filing, which in turn may improve worker outcomes and system costs.

Searston, Ivan (2003).  Where to for Place-Based Learning?  Education in Rural Australia, 13, 1. 

School at the Center, a U.S. place-based educational initiative, was successfully trialed in North Queensland (Australia). For place-based education to take root in Australia, place-based educational strategies must be taught in preservice teacher education programs. However, to be seriously considered by teacher education programs, place-based education needs to develop a strong academic and theoretical base.

Seaton, Erin E. (2007).  "If Teachers Are Good to You": Caring for Rural Girls in the Classroom  Journal of Research in Rural Education, 22, 6. 

This article explores eight rural middle-school girls' perceptions of connections with their teachers. It rests on the finding that teachers offer a vital source of support for adolescent girls living in rural communities as girls come to a critical juncture in the development of their identities. Drawing on ethnographic and narrative data, I discuss the way in which rumors and reputations, gendered expectations, and miscommunications complicate the development of strong ties between the middle-school girls and their teachers, leaving the girls wishing for greater support at school. I provide a narrative example of one teachers' care for a student, and I offer suggestions for supporting rural adolescent girls' healthy identity development in school.

Seeberg, Vilma (2008).  Girls First! Promoting Early Education in Tibetan Areas of China, a Case Study  Educational Review, 60, 1. 

This study explores conditions promoting girls' education in ethnic Tibetan pastoral highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau of western China. Global discourse and cross national evidence on the transgenerational benefits of girls' education has shown prioritizing girls' education to be the most effective strategy of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, a crucial policy strategy for this comparatively declining region. The study looks beyond utilitarian concerns as it examines the situation of girls within the network of relationships that (1) bind them in their traditional place, and (2) create new spaces for their educational empowerment. Based on rich qualitative data narrating girls' pursuit of education the author concluded that girls were advantageously situated for primary schooling, that schools functioned as change agents that opened up spaces of possibility for girls, including their demand for parity in promotion to secondary and higher schooling. Male adults leaving for work in the modern money economy and the rising demand for secondary education placed Tibetan girls even in remote settings into a modern habitus as they acquired a modern subjectivity--though they remained materially locked in a pre-modern terrain and declining socio-economic conditions. The author argues that taking a critical empowerment perspective in exploring socio-economic as well as cultural conditions as changeable allows us to see beyond grim developmentalist predictions of vicious-circles and find the seeds of change. Thus deeper understanding enables policy makers to formulate culturally responsive policies that have the salutary effects of expanding human liberties. The article concludes with a series of recommendations for improving girls' education.

Seeberg, Vilma; Zhao, Lin (2002).  Partnerships with Girls in Rural Schools in China: A Case Study. 

A case study of the impact of modest scholarships on the education of poor, rural Chinese girls found a "bonus effect"--an increase in the value placed on female scholarship recipients by their village. In mountainous Shaanxi Province, poor economic conditions led to many girls dropping out of school by grade 4. In one village, the All-China Women's Federation awarded small scholarships in 2000 and 2001 to help female dropouts return to school. Recipients included 14 elementary students and 6 secondary students, 5 of whom attended boarding school. All the girls were chosen due to severe financial difficulties in their family. Additional information on 12 families and interviews with some of the girls revealed no surplus resources or assets in the family. Nevertheless, all the girls persisted in their school attendance on only a minimal scholarship. Some fathers made extraordinary efforts and borrowed money well beyond their means, actions that fly in the face of logic about "long-term return on investment." Given the poor economic conditions of the village, school did not promise a return on investment for these girls, and their devotion to schooling appeared to be to schooling per se. It is suggested that traditional Confucian values regarding education combined with a modern disposition allowing girls a new flexibility of role or identity. The scholarships increased this flexibility of attitude on the part of fathers, and they responded to their daughters' passion for schooling with compassion and parental support. An appendix presents data on the recipients. | [FULL TEXT]

Segrave, Robin (2004).  Communication Technologies and Knowledge Building in Agriculture  Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 44, 1. 

The concept of knowledge building communities has not traditionally been associated with agricultural extension, but is one which has the potential to increase the rate of adoption of best management practices by the industry. A potentially important mechanism to facilitate knowledge building is information and communication technology (ICT); however, very little research has been conducted on how effective it is in facilitating agricultural extension. In this study, the potential for the use of ICT to facilitate knowledge building communities in agriculture was investigated in the dairy industry. Drawing on qualitative analysis using a case study, this research showed that ICT can enhance the gaining of technical knowledge (an important goal of extension); however, it was less successful in increasing collaborative learning. It was found that hierarchies within the dairy learning group were maintained despite the use of ICT, and that this inhibited participation. The research concluded that ICT needs to be embedded in and supported by other forms of social interaction.  | [FULL TEXT]

Selden, Ron (2004).  Back from the Brink: Innovative Language Program Involves Three Generations  Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 15, 3. 

Fort Belknap College has embarked on an ambitious project in Montana to pull the Gros Ventre and the Assiniboine languages back from the brink. On the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, where there are two principal tribes, only a handful of Gros Ventre, or White Clay, members are still fluent in the traditional tongue. The "tribal college" already offered classes in both the White Clay and Nakoda languages as part of the school's general curriculum, and in 2002, they started the Speaking White Clay Project, a mentorship program that matches eight Gros Ventre elders with eight young adults.

Selden, Ron (2004).  "Preserve at All Costs": AIHEC Program Prepares New Generation of Leaders  Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 16, 2. 

The article presents information on American Indian Higher Education Consortium's (AIHEC) Leadership Program. The program is designed to prepare a new generation of senior-level leaders for AIHEC's 35-member tribal colleges and universities, where an increasing number of long-term administrators are leaving after decades of service. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation funds the leadership program with a four-year, $6 million grant to the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education. The alliance is a unique collaboration of AIHEC, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

Selfa, Theresa; Jussaume, Raymond A., Jr.; Winter, Michael (2008).  Envisioning Agricultural Sustainability from Field to Plate: Comparing Producer and Consumer Attitudes and Practices toward "Environmentally Friendly" Food and Farming in Washington State, USA  Journal of Rural Studies, 24, 3. 

A substantial body of sociological research has examined the relationship between farmers' environmental attitudes and their conservation behaviors, but little research has compared the attitudes of producers and consumers toward the environment with their behaviors or practices in support of sustainable agri-food systems. This paper addresses these shortcomings by analyzing the intersection between producer and consumer attitudes toward environmental sustainability with their actual practices, drawing data from focus group interviews and surveys with producers and consumers in Washington State, USA. We compare farmers' attitudes toward several agricultural and environmental policies with their self-reported practices to examine whether support for environmental policies aligns with sustainable farming practices. For consumers, we investigate the relationship between their attitudes toward the same agricultural and environmental policy issues with their interest in purchasing food produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Through our analyses, we find that consumers' and producers' practices are not always consistently correlated with their environmental attitudes, but that support for agricultural land preservation is one policy area in which the interests of producers and consumers intersect with their interest in sustainable farming and food. Findings from our individual and focus group interviews assist us in understanding the multiple, sometimes competing, factors that consumers and producers must weigh in making decisions about environmentally sustainable food and farming.

Selfridge, Jennifer (2004).  The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program: How We Know It Works  Theory Into Practice, 43, 1. 

The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) is a K-12 program characterized by a comprehensive, multi-year strategy for preventing violence and creating caring and peaceable communities of learning that improve school success for all children. First developed as an initiative of the New York City Public Schools and the Educators for Social Responsibility NYC chapter (ESR Metro) in 1985, RCCP now serves more than 400 schools in 16 urban, suburban, and rural school districts across the United States. Throughout its history, local sites have evaluated the effectiveness of RCCP in their settings and how well RCCP met local goals and objectives. While the research questions have differed somewhat from site to site, there is sufficient similarity in the results to determine that RCCP is effective. In this article, the results of individual assessments are presented and trends across sites are noted.

(2004).  Service Learning in East Timor  Reclaiming Children and Youth: The Journal of Strength-based Interventions, 13, 1. 

Five days in East Timor visiting orphanages changed the lives of five young men from Youth Off The Streets. The children in these orphanages run by the Salesian order of the Catholic church are products of the Indonesian invasion, which began in 1975 and continued until 1999. Massive destruction occurred throughout the country. Buildings at the orphanage in Dili were bombed out, as the priests were protecting 10,000 refugees who in some way had fought against the Indonesian militia. No lives were lost as all of the people had escaped to the forest. This article briefly describes the orphanages that the men visited.

Sevinc, Muzeyyen (2006).  Development of Turkish Education Policy and the Modernization Primary Education Revisited  Childhood Education, 82, 6. 

The Turkish Republic was born out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire (1270-1920), which extended into three continents and ruled people of various ethnic denominations having different languages, religions, and culture. Elementary education for the masses was left to the people themselves, with little input from the imperial administration. This article discusses the cultural and educational history of Turkey and the development of modern primary education policy.

Seyfang, Gill (2006).  Ecological Citizenship and Sustainable Consumption: Examining Local Organic Food Networks  Journal of Rural Studies, 22, 4. 

Sustainable consumption is gaining in currency as a new environmental policy objective. This paper presents new research findings from a mixed-method empirical study of a local organic food network to interrogate the theories of both sustainable consumption and ecological citizenship. It describes a mainstream policy model of sustainable consumption, and contrasts this with an alternative model derived from green or "new economics" theories. Then the role of localised, organic food networks is discussed to locate them within the alternative model. It then tests the hypothesis that ecological citizenship is a driving force for "alternative" sustainable consumption, via expression through consumer behaviour such as purchasing local organic food. The empirical study found that both the organisation and their consumers were expressing ecological citizenship values in their activities in a number of clearly identifiable ways, and that the initiative was actively promoting the growth of ecological citizenship, as well as providing a meaningful social context for its expression. Furthermore, the initiative was able to overcome the structural limitations of mainstream sustainable consumption practices. Thus, the initiative was found to be a valuable tool for practising alternative sustainable consumption. The paper concludes with a discussion of how ecological citizenship may be a powerful motivating force for sustainable consumption behaviour, and the policy and research implications of this.

Shabaya, Judith; Konadu-Agyemang, Kwadwo (2004).  Unequal Access, Unequal Participation: Some Spatial and Socio-Economic Dimensions of the Gender Gap in Education in Africa with Special Reference to Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya  Compare A Journal of Comparative Education, 34, 4. 

The question of unequal access to education among males and females appears to be universal in the developing world. However, females in Africa seem to suffer more discrimination in terms of access to education. This study revisits the question of gender disparities in educational access in Africa by analyzing data from recent comparative national surveys including the Demographic and Health Surveys, Living Standards Surveys, and World Bank data, focusing on Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. It concludes that while substantial progress has been made in the last 40 years, female illiteracy rates are still high compared to males, and entrenched attitudes continue to keep females out of the educational system, thereby perpetuating the gender gap. Furthermore, while females are generally disadvantaged vis a vis their male counterparts, females living in the urban areas and some core regions tend to be better off than those living in the rural areas and peripheral regions. The paper suggests a number of policy recommendations that would enable African countries, especially the three countries used as case studies, to reap the full benefits that accrue from female education. These include the need for African governments to rededicate their efforts towards giving female education the highest priority, creating girl-friendly school environments, helping resolve parental poverty issues that compel them to force girls into early marriages, legislating and enforcing laws that compel all children to stay in school for at least 12 years, and wiping out the long existing spatial inequities that enable people in certain locations to have better access to education than others.

Shank, Melody J. (2005).  Common Space, Common Time, Common Work  Educational Leadership, 62, 8. 

The most valued means of support and learning cited by new teachers at Poland Regional High School in rural Maine are the collegial interactions that common workspace, common planning time, and common tasks make possible. The school has used these everyday structures to enable new and veteran teachers to converse about curricular and pedagogical decisions, student learning, administrative logistics, and professional learning. Teachers share classrooms. Co-teaching teams, cross-curricular grade-level teams, and content-area teachers share office space. Common planning time enables team teachers to plan their curriculum together, assess student work, interact with colleagues, and consult with parents and students in a group setting. Many structural features of the school curriculum frame common tasks for teachers and require collaboration, such as standards-based assessment, advisory groups, grade-level teams, an interdisciplinary curriculum, and classes taught in common.

Shannon, C. Ken (2003).  A Community Development Approach to Rural Recruitment.  Journal of Rural Health, 19. 

West Virginia University's Recruitable Community Project provides rural communities with community education on recruiting physicians and health personnel, as well as planning assistance, assessments, and recommendations on broad-based community development to enhance recruitment potential. This model of community training and development has helped seven participating communities to recruit a total of 27 health care providers.

Shannon, Patrick; Edmondson, Jacqueline (2003).  A Rejoinder to Opuda and Arnold.  Journal of Research in Rural Education, 18, 1. 

Since the authors' previous article was submitted, the Reading First proposal in question was funded without revisions. This may have happened because a new governor and political party had replaced those in charge of the Reading First program. Three implications arise: persist when values collide; who controls state government matters; and science is a political tool that policymakers and government officials use to hide their values.

Sharma, Ajay (2008).  Making (Electrical) Connections: Exploring Student Agency in a School in India  Science Education, 92, 2. 

Students studying in government-run schools in rural India possess much experiential knowledge of the world around them. This paper presents a narrative account of an ethnographic exploration of such students as they attempted to learn about electricity in an eighth-grade classroom in a government-run school in a village in India. The paper shows how students having a rich experience with household electric circuits attempt, in a contingent and situated manner, to negotiate their role as students and participate in the school science discourse. The students' actions expressed agency that was contingent, situated, and aimed at selective appropriation of school science discourse for their own purposes. Such expressions of student agency indicate rich possibilities for meaningful learning of science in rural schools in India provided school science is made relevant for their lives and concerns.

Sharp, Erin Hiley; Caldwell, Linda L.; Graham, John W.; Ridenour, Ty A. (2006).  Individual Motivation and Parental Influence on Adolescents' Experiences of Interest in Free Time: A Longitudinal Examination  Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 3. 

Time spent in freely chosen leisure activities offers a distinct developmental context that can support positive youth development; however this potential for growth depends in part on adolescent interest and engagement in their free time activities. Research indicates that many adolescents report experiencing boredom, instead of interest, in their free time. This study utilized longitudinal data from 354 rural middle school students to investigate how parenting practices and adolescent motivational styles influence adolescents' experience of interest in their free time. Findings indicated that adolescent self-regulated motivation and parental knowledge related to the free time context were positively associated with experiences of interest, while adolescent motivation and parental control were negatively associated with interest in free time. The effect of parental knowledge and parental control on adolescents' experiences of interest was mediated by adolescent motivational styles. These results were similar across grade level and gender. Implications for interventions promoting positive youth development are discussed.

Shaughnessy, Lana; Doshi, Sonal R.; Jones, Sherry Everett (2004).  Attempted Suicide and Associated Health Risk Behaviors among Native American High School Students  Journal of School Health, 74, 5. 

Suicide represents the second-leading cause of death among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth aged 15-24 years. Data from the 2001 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Youth Risk Behavior Survey were used to examine the association between attempted suicide among high school students and unintentional injury and violence behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, tobacco use, and alcohol and other drug use. The study included students in BIA-funded high schools with 10 or more students enrolled in grades 9-12. Overall, 16% of BIA high school students attempted suicide one or more times in the 12 months preceding the survey. Females and males who attempted suicide were more likely than females and males who did not attempt suicide to engage in every risk behavior analyzed: unintentional injury and violence behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, tobacco use, and alcohol and other drug use. These data enable educators, school health professionals, and others who work with this population to better identify American Indian youth at risk for attempting suicide by recognizing the number and variety of health risk behaviors associated with attempted suicide.

Shaw, Kathleen M. (2004).  Using Feminist Critical Policy Analysis in the Realm of Higher Education: The Case of Welfare Reform as Gendered Educational Policy  Journal of Higher Education, 75, 1. 

This article is an attempt to provide a partial corrective to more traditional analyses of higher education policy that most often obscure broader social factors that contribute to unequal power relations and educational outcomes related to social class, gender, and race/ethnicity. This article focuses specifically on gender issues and employs a feminist critical policy analysis framework. Feminist critical policy analysis challenges the positivist assumptions on which most policy analysis rests and employs methodological tools that provide a more complete understanding of policy from the perspective of both policymakers and those affected by the policy. The author has chosen to utilize the 1996 welfare reform legislation as a case study to illustrate the usefulness of this methodological and analytical approach to policy analysis.

Shaw, Thomas C.; DeYoung, Alan J.; Rademacher, Eric W. (2004).  Educational Attainment in Appalachia: Growing with the Nation, But Challenges Remain  Journal of Appalachian Studies, 10, 3. 

In this article, the authors briefly trace some of the historical issues related to views of education and society, especially as they relate to Appalachia. They explore contemporary comparisons of educational attainment--both inside and outside Appalachia--using the 2000 and other recent U.S. Census figures. Within this historical context, this article presents the state of educational attainment as measured by the most recent decennial census.

Shea, Catherine; Babione, Carolyn (2002).  Wisdom from Those Who Do It Well: Special Education Master Teachers. 

Two faculty members from Indiana University Southeast collaborated with experienced special educators over a 2-year period to determine if supervision procedures based on general education classroom situations fit today's special education student-teaching experience. They found that the 21st-century special education classroom is often not a classroom but rather the point of deployment of services that follow students with special needs into their general education classrooms. Student teachers going from classroom to classroom must quickly acclimate themselves to different teachers, classroom environments, and subject matter. Within the first few days of student teaching, behavior intervention plans, crisis and safety intervention procedures, and relationships with other teachers and instructional assistants should be clarified. Student teachers are exposed to multiple teaching models within and across classrooms. The master teacher and student teacher should routinely discuss instructional strategies that the student teacher has observed and should clarify which are best practices. With decentralized service delivery, other teachers or instructional assistants may have more direct observation of the student teacher than the supervising teacher. Those expected to contribute their views of student teacher progress should be clear about performance expectations. Supervising teachers should be deliberate about observing their student teachers when they have the chance. It was also found that Webcams and e-mail could enable more field placements in rural areas and allow exemplary teachers at distant sites to contribute to teacher education. | [FULL TEXT]

Sheaff, Katharine (2001).  The 2000 Census and Growth Patterns in Rural America. The Main Street Economist: Commentary on the Rural Economy. 

The 2000 Census reveals four patterns of change in rural America. Rural areas in states such as Florida and Arizona are gaining population due to high retiree growth. These areas will experience growth in service sector jobs that have low pay and low educational requirements. Florida and Arizona trail the nation in high school and college graduation rates. States with high retiree growth must balance growth in the service sector with other sectors to maintain high standards of living. Colorado and Washington are typical of states with rural increases in working-age people. Young workers sustain a strong tax base, but their children place demands on schools, which in rural areas may have been losing students. Illinois and Minnesota are good examples of states with dual economies. Rural counties around metro areas experience growth, while others lose population. Policymakers face a dilemma: do they support continued growth of the cities or try to bolster rural growth? States respond to the dual economy problem in different ways, but these states seem determined to prosper without leaving rural places behind. "Rural exodus" states are exemplified by Kansas and North Dakota, where populations are shrinking in most rural counties. Education may be strong in these states, but many good students and entrepreneurs leave their rural hometowns. The lack of entrepreneurial innovation and leadership in these areas makes future economic growth problematic, and the diminishing population results in an eroding tax base that strains public services. | [FULL TEXT]

Shears, Jeffrey; Edwards, Ruth W.; Stanley, Linda R. (2006).  School Bonding and Substance Use in Rural Communities  Social Work Research, 30, 1. 

Adolescent substance use in U.S. rural communities is now equal to or greater than urban use for many substances. Yet much research focuses on urban and suburban populations, raising doubt as to the generalizability of etiological models of substance use to rural populations.This study examines whether the relationship between school bonding and alcohol and drug use depends on level of rurality of the community in which an adolescent lives. Data were collected between 1996 and 2000 from a sample of junior and senior high schools in 193 predominantly white communities, stratified by region. Multilevel models were estimated for alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, and amphetamines. A strong negative relationship was found between school bonding and substance use, no matter the level of rurality. Results also suggested that school bonding might be more protective for drunkenness and marijuana use in the most remote communities.

Sheehan, Angela; Walrath-Greene, Christine; Fisher, Sylvia; Crossbear, Shannon; Walker, Joseph (2007).  Evidence-Based Practice Knowledge, Use, and Factors that Influence Decisions: Results from an Evidence-Based Practice Survey of Providers in American Indian/Alaska Native Communities  American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center, 14, 2. 

Data from the Evidence-based Treatment Survey were used to compare providers serving families in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to their counterparts in non-American Indian/Alaska Native communities on provider characteristics and factors that influence their decision to use evidence-based practices (N = 467). The findings suggest that providers affiliated with American Indian/Alaska Native communities are similar to their non-AI/AN community-affiliated counterparts in terms of familiarity, knowledge and use of evidence-based practices, and only differ slightly on the factors considered when deciding to use an evidence-based practice with a child and family.  | [FULL TEXT]

Shepard, Blythe (2004).  In Search of Self: A Qualitative Study of the Life-Career Development of Rural Young Women  Canadian Journal of Counselling, 38, 2. 

Little attention has been paid to the life-career development of rural adolescents. The aim of this project is to explore the hopes, beliefs, and fears of eight young women and aspects of their rural environment that act to constrain or enhance their options. Participants constructed life-space maps, possible selves, and photographic displays during two semi-structured interviews. Four themes emerged across the transcripts: (a) just like living under a microscope, (b) empowering and disempowering relationships, (c) opening and limiting conditions, and (d) aspirations and apprehensions. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Shepard, Blythe (2005).  Embedded Selves: Co-Constructing a Relationally Based Career Workshop for Rural Girls  Canadian Journal of Counselling, 39, 4. 

As economic, technological, and social changes transform rural areas, female youth face particular challenges in making educational/career decisions. Relationships within the community enhance and constrain future paths. Building on an earlier research study (Shepard, 2004), the co-construction of a community-based workshop with research participants is described. Workshop activities are clustered under three topic areas: knowledge of me in my local worlds; knowledge of the world of work inside and outside my community; and strengthening my future. Practical guidelines for career counsellors are provided, including the importance of developmentally appropriate experiences and contextual relevance. Workshop adaptation and extension are outlined.

Sherman, Jennifer (2006).  Coping with Rural Poverty: Economic Survival and Moral Capital in Rural America  Social Forces, 85, 2. 

The experience of rural poverty is in many ways unique from that of urban poverty. In the rural setting, social cohesion creates pressure on the poor to behave in ways that are consistent with local values. This paper, based on qualitative research done in an isolated, rural Northern California community, argues that in this setting the survival strategies of the poor are chosen because they are socially rational rather than economically optimal. The choice of socially acceptable coping strategies is ultimately beneficial because it creates "moral capital," which can be traded for both social capital in the form of community support, and economic capital in the form of job opportunities.

Sherwood, Topper (2001).  Where Has All the "Rural" Gone? Rural Education Research and Current Federal Reform. 

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. | [FULL TEXT]

Shield, Rosemary White (2004).  The Retention of Indigenous Students in Higher Education: Historical Issues, Federal Policy, and Indigenous Resilience  Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory and Practice, 6, 1. 

This article focuses on answering two main questions: Why is this phenomenon occurring for Indigenous students in higher education and what are effective solutions for the retention and success of Indigenous students in higher education?

Pennsylvania, like the United States, experienced a remarkable economic expansion through the late 1990s. The significant growth and change of this decade, however, did not equally touch all regions and all industries. Traditional sectors continued to decline, while growth in what has been dubbed the "new economy," considered to be the emerging service-and technology-based sectors, helped fuel the boom. Regional growth patterns also varied. The state's growth was centered in the southeast, while many northern tier and western counties grew slowly. These trends reflect an increased economic disparity between rural and urban Pennsylvania. Job creation has not remedied this disparity. Although annual employment growth rates since 1985 have been higher in rural counties than in urban ones, there is a growing gap between rural and urban per-worker earnings. The rural-urban wage gap, adjusted for inflation, grew from $4,400 per worker in 1979 to more than $9,450 per worker in 1999. Simply put, rural Pennsylvanians were faring worse in the new economy than they were 20 years earlier. If rural areas are adapting relatively slowly to the new economy, policymakers wanting to close the earnings gap need to understand rural growth trends, the causes of industry growth at the county level, and opportunities for growth in rural counties. This study investigates these issues by looking at the change in the number of jobs and business establishments and the average annual wages in rural and urban Pennsylvania, and in comparison states and their rural areas. Appended are: (1) Variables and their Data Sources; and (2) Predicted Industry Opportunities for Rural Pennsylvania Counties. | [FULL TEXT]

Shippen, Margaret E.; Houchins, David E.; Puckett, DaShaunda; Ramsey, Michelle (2007).  Preferred Writing Topics of Urban and Rural Middle School Students  Journal of Instructional Psychology, 34, 1. 

This study compared the preferred writing topics of urban and rural middle school students. Eighth graders (n = 205) responded to a brief survey of preferred writing topics in the descriptive writing genres of real or imagined stories, reports, and opinions. While some preferred writing topics were divergent such as society, crime, and violence, more topics were noted as overlapping. Findings indicate that the major overlapping topics for both rural and urban participants included current events, teen issues, politics, school, and celebrities. Interestingly, the commonality of adolescence seems to be more salient in preference of writing topic than does location in which one receives an education. Implications for classroom writing topic preferences are discussed.

Shores, Elizabeth F., Ed. (2006).  Proceedings of the Rural Early Childhood Forum on American Indian and Alaska Native Early Learning (Little Rock, Arkansas, July 28-29, 2005). Rural Early Childhood Report No. 2  [National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives - Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute] 

The papers in this volume join other commentators in noting the marked gaps in research on Indian Education. Regardless of the logistic, cultural, and other challenges that may be to some degree responsible for this gap, the lack of research-based knowledge in this area is to the detriment of Indian educators and the Indian communities within which they work. The absence of research, however, is not due to a lack of important unanswered questions. The National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives, known as Rural Early Childhood; Penn State's American Indian Leadership Program (AILP); and Penn State's Center for Rural Education and Communities (CREC) in 2004 began discussing what might be done to address these research needs and gaps, particularly with regards to early childhood education and educational leadership. Their discussions resulted in the convening of an "experts" conference, the "Rural Early Childhood Forum on Native American and Alaska Native Early Learning," of which this proceeding is one result. The forum was comprised of academic researchers and faculty, Native educators, Native early childhood education specialists, and community leaders with a strong interest in and concern for rural Indian early childhood education. The purpose was to, first, assess the current state of rural Indian early childhood education, with an emphasis on the years prior to formal school entry, as well as educational leadership as it pertains to rural Indian early childhood education; and second, to discuss how research might be initiated that would help to fulfill the goals of the research agenda. The Introduction introduces the papers herein and summarizes the state of the knowledge on rural early childhood education as it concerns American Indian and Alaska Native children. Papers published in these proceedings include: (1) Early Childhood Educational Opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families (Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz); (2) The Health and Development of American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Relationship to Reservation and Rural/Urban Residence (Laurel S. Endfield); (3) Effective Early Education Programs that Promote the Learning of the English Language and Tribal Languages and Cultures (Nila M. Rinehart); (4) Transitions of American Indian and Alaska Native Children from Pre-school to Kindergarten (Cheryl Clay); (5) American Indian and Alaska Native School Readiness (Nicole L. Thompson, Margaret A. Pope, and Jeanne Holland); (6) Young American Indian/Alaskan Native Children with Disabilities: Implications for Policy, Research, and Practice (Susan C. Faircloth); (7) American Indian and Alaska Native Early Childhood Family Involvement: A Review of the Literature (SusanRae Banks-Joseph and Laurie D. McCubbin); and (8) School Leaders (Roger Bordeaux). (Individual papers contain references.) [This document was produced by the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives, Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute. The proceedings were sponsored by The National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives; and The American Indian Leadership Program, The Center on Rural Education and Communities, Pennsylvania State University. The Southwestern Electric Power Company was a co-sponsor.] | [FULL TEXT]

Shores, Elizabeth F.; Barbaro, Erin; Barbaro, Michael C.; Flenner, Michelle; Bell, Lynn (2007).  Indicators of Access to Early Childhood Services in the Mississippi Delta. Rural Early Childhood Report No. 5  [National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives - Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute] 

The Early Childhood Atlas facilitates spatial analysis in early childhood services research for the promotion of greater quality and accessibility of early care and education. The Atlas team collects and geocodes federal, state and nongovernmental datasets about early childhood services, integrating selected data elements into its online mapmaking and reporting tools for use by the public, and producing custom maps of selected early childhood services indicators. This document is an analysis of access to early childhood services in the Mississippi Delta, prepared for the Mississippi Delta Revitalization Task Force.  [This document was prepared by the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives, Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute.] | [FULL TEXT]

Short, Christina; Martin, Barbara N. (2005).  Case Study: Attitudes of Rural High School Students and Teachers Regarding Inclusion  Rural Educator, 27, 1. 

This case study was intended to explore the premise that the perceptions of the stakeholders regarding inclusion should enhance the implementation of the process in a K-12 rural setting. Therefore, rural high school students' and rural general education and special education teachers' perceptions of inclusion provided the primary focus of this case study. Data analysis identified that while overall general education teachers supported the idea of inclusion they did not believe that they were trained. Additionally, the students supported the concept of inclusion when they were allowed choice in which classroom they were placed and if the teacher allowed choice in classroom activities. Also the classroom size was identified by all stakeholders as an issue by being affected negatively by the addition of more students being placed in inclusive classrooms. Implications for the teacher training, and the allocation of resources in rural settings are significant.  | [FULL TEXT]

Shreve, Bradley Glenn (2006).  Up against Giants: The National Indian Youth Council, the Navajo Nation, and Coal Gasification, 1974-77  American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 30, 2. 

In the spring of 1977, members of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), along with the Coalition for Navajo Liberation, barraged the Secretary of the Interior and the chairman of the Navajo Nation with petitions calling for a halt to the proposed construction of several coal gasification plants on the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New Mexico. The petitions stated that the billion-dollar industrial venture would lead to "the inevitable genocide" of the local Navajo people whose culture and livelihood would "once again (be) trampled and ignored." The NIYC-led campaign to stop coal gasification began in 1974 and lasted through most of 1977. Their struggle was against not only the multinationals seeking to build and profit from the plants, but also the governments of both the United States and the Navajo Nation, which ignored the interests of the Burnham residents in their legislative wrangling over gasification. In this article, the author traces the history of the attempts of NIYC to stop the coal gasification in the Navajo Nation from 1974 to 1977.

Shriver, Thomas E.; Kennedy, Dennis K. (2005).  Contested Environmental Hazards and Community Conflict over Relocation  Rural Sociology, 70, 4. 

The majority of the literature on contaminated communities indicates that environmental hazards lead to conflict and dissension. In this paper we examine the salient dimensions of conflict and factionalism in a rural Oklahoma community. The community is heavily contaminated from 80 years of commercial mining operations and was one of the first sites designated on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund List in 1983. Despite two decades of remediation efforts, the community remains polluted with lead and other heavy metals. Based on in-depth interviews with community residents, observation, and document analysis, we find that the community has splintered into two competing groups over the environmental controversy. One faction of the community supports a federally sponsored relocation campaign, while the other has organized to oppose relocation. The results of our study indicate that the contentious split is centered around the ambiguity of harm associated with the contamination, conflicting economic concerns, and variations in community attachment.

Shubin, Sergei (2006).  The Changing Nature of Rurality and Rural Studies in Russia  Journal of Rural Studies, 22, 4. 

This paper seeks to outline different strands of the reconfiguration of the social and spatial perspectives on the countryside in Russia in the last 20 years. The country's transition implied changes in the production of knowledge, including the re-examination of research topics and bringing new theories into rural studies. The article strives to develop a theoretically informed critique of the recent studies, specifically addressing the changing vision of rurality. Taking as a starting point traditional concerns in rural discourses, i.e. the ways rurality have been traditionally studied in Russia, this paper seeks to identify what rural studies might gain and lose from the shift in academic research. Critics have focused on the problems of bringing together past and recent trajectories in rural research, concentrating on the power of construction of particular rural discourses in different environments. The reconstruction of changing rural discourses aims to provide an interpretative framework for understanding the ways various rural images and policy concepts are implicated in the construction of the Russian countryside.

Shufeng, Xu; Shihua, Cui; Zhaoping, Sun; Xianlei, Zhang (2005).  Teacher Drain from China's Higher Education Institutions and Some Consequences of This Drain  Chinese Education & Society, 38, 6. 

Teachers are where the major strength of organizational control lies in the educational process; it is mainly they who restrict the quality of education and teaching and who are the irreplaceable factor in determining how well a school is run and its overall image. Therefore, once a teacher drain from higher education institutions begins, it is indicative of a serious problem of major proportions. While in recent years the teacher drain from higher education institutions has been well handled in some economically developed regions and key universities, for the vast majority of ordinary institutions around the country it shows no signs of abating and is indeed worsening, becoming almost universal. It is hoped that this study will arouse concern about this higher education teacher drain and promote the development of higher education in China.  [Translated by Sue Wiles.]

Shumaker, Conrad (2007).  Out of the Classroom and into the Canyons: An American Indian Travel Course in Theory and Practice  Studies in American Indian Literatures, 19, 1. 

The author of this article, believes that the conventional classroom is designed to separate students from the places they come from and the places in which they live. Therefore, bringing American Indian literature into the space of the classroom is to create a disjunction. With a firm conviction that Contemporary American Indian literature calls not just for literary appreciation but for action and new ways of connecting, the author, with the help of a sociology professor colleague who spent time as a nurse on the Navajo reservation, set out to develop a Native American Literature course. They designed and set up a travel seminar to show students in a living classroom the deep connection between culture and literature, and that the two must be understood hand in hand. They began with having students examine their own way of living in a context that would throw students off balance and make them discover their own assumptions in a basic way. Students went to an educational center run by an organization called Heifer International and began with the "global village experience" in which students spent an afternoon working in an organic garden and then had to live for the evening and night in the kind of dwelling space they would find in Guatemala, Africa, Thailand, the Appalachians, or a Mexico City barrio. They had to figure out a way to get water and firewood, how to enhance their meager allowance of food by trading materials or labor with neighbors, and to cook using a wood stove if they were "rich" by world standards or an open fire and an automobile grill if they were less prosperous. Coming off that experience, students acquired a clearer sense of the importance of shelter, food, fuel, and water as elements of a place, and they were ready to discuss our way of life more intensely. In this context, questions were raised about how students define themselves and the effect they have on other cultures because of that definition, and the effect on the land and the beings they share it with. Meanwhile students read literature and works about American Cultures, but discussions of specific text are discussed on site. Students then travel to the reservation not as tourists, but as informed visitors. As the students have experiences such as meeting with a Hopi Potter and discussing the significance of petroglyphs, or helping a family plaster a house in the traditional Hopi way using mud and bare hands, or sharing a traditional family meal, they are also discussing the literature. Students gain a new awareness of the difficulty facing people whose culture is under constant pressure to become "American." Issues of cultural tension, land destruction, healing, and stories come alive for those students in ways they never can in the classroom. The author also freely shares his insight and suggestions for others thinking of planning travel courses of their own. He covers such nuts and bolts topics as establishing connections, funding, and liability.

Shutiva, Charmaine L. (2001).  Career and Academic Guidance for American Indian and Alaska Native Youth. ERIC Digest. 

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students strive to maintain their heritage while learning to be successful in the dominant culture. Although academic and career success are worthy goals, AI/AN students can pay a heavy price to achieve them. To provide effective and responsive career and academic guidance for AI/AN youth, teachers and counselors must be aware of underlying cultural values and beliefs that can affect students' academic and career choices. This digest briefly describes demographics and trends in AI/AN education, cultural values and beliefs that provide a context for education and counseling, and responsive career and academic guidance practices for working with AI/AN students. Brief statistics highlight the educational progress made in recent decades in terms of AI/AN college enrollment and graduation, but also point out concerns related to low educational attainment and academic achievement. Three important traditional values--all related to wellness as harmony in spirit, mind, and body--are discussed, along with implications for counseling and guidance: (1) giving and sharing of goods, resources, skills, and cash with family and community; (2) group cohesiveness or "glory to the group" and possible conflicts with individualistic rewards; and (3) adequate time to observe and reflect prior to participation and communication, and need to accommodate student participation in traditional tribal ceremonies. Seven other recommendations for effective and responsive counseling are listed. | [FULL TEXT]

Siegal, Harvey A.; Draus, Paul J.; Carlson, Robert G.; Falck, Russel S.; Wang, Jichuan (2006).  Perspectives on Health among Adult Users of Illicit Stimulant Drugs in Rural Ohio  Journal of Rural Health, 22, 2. 

Context: Although the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine is increasingly common in many rural areas of the United States, little is known about the health beliefs of people who use these drugs. Purpose: This research describes illicit stimulant drug users' views on health and health-related concepts that may affect their utilization of health care services. Methods: A respondent-driven sampling plan was used to recruit 249 not-in-treatment, nonmedical stimulant drug users who were residing in 3 rural counties in west central Ohio. A structured questionnaire administered by trained interviewers was used to collect information on a range of topics, including current drug use, self-reported health status, perceived need for substance abuse treatment, and beliefs about health and health services. Findings: Participants reported using a wide variety of drugs nonmedically, some by injection. Alcohol and marijuana were the most commonly used drugs in the 30 days prior to the interview. Powder cocaine was used by 72.3% of the sample, crack by 68.3%, and methamphetamine by 29.7%. Fair or poor health status was reported by 41.3% of the participants. Only 20.9% of the sample felt they needed drug abuse treatment. Less than one third of the sample reported that they would feel comfortable talking to a physician about their drug use, and 65.1% said they preferred taking care of their problems without getting professional help. Conclusions: Stimulant drug users in rural Ohio are involved with a range of substances and hold health beliefs that may impede health services utilization.

Siemon, Dianne; Enilane, Fran; McCarthy, Jan (2004).  Supporting Indigenous Students' Achievement in Numeracy  Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 9, 4. 

In this article, the authors report on a state project designed to explore numeracy outcomes of Indigenous students. The "Supporting Indigenous students achievement in numeracy" project (2003-2004), commissioned by Education authorities in the Northern Territory, was aimed at researching the impact of the development and implementation of authentic (rich) assessment tasks on the numeracy outcomes of middle years Indigenous students in a targeted group of remote, non-urban schools. The project involved the schools in trialing and/or implementing a range of rich tasks aimed at identifying starting points for numeracy teaching. Results indicated that students in the target group found the "rich" tasks difficult to access, even though a concerted attempt had been made to ensure that the tasks were relevant and the literacy demands were kept to a minimum. It was also evident that there was considerable variation in task administration both within and between schools. This has important implications for the wider use of these types of tasks and suggests that much more work is needed to ensure equity of access across very different communities. Another extremely important outcome of this project was the reported growth in teacher knowledge and confidence about how to teach mathematics more effectively to students in remote, non-urban communities.

Sikorska-Simmons, Elzbieta (2005).  Predictors of Organizational Commitment among Staff in Assisted Living  Gerontologist, 45, 2. 

Purpose: This study examines the role of organizational culture, job satisfaction, and sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of organizational commitment among staff in assisted living. It is particularly important to examine organizational commitment, because of its close links to staff turnover. Design and Methods: Data were collected from 317 staff members in 61 facilities, using self-administered questionnaires. The facilities were selected from licensed assisted living programs and were stratified into small, traditional, and new-model homes. Staff questionnaires were distributed by a researcher during 1-day visits to each facility. Organizational commitment was measured by the extent of staff identification, involvement, and loyalty to the organization. Results: Organizational culture, job satisfaction, and education were strong predictors of commitment, together explaining 58% of the total variance in the dependent variable. Higher levels of organizational commitment were associated with more favorable staff perceptions of organizational culture and greater job satisfaction. In addition, more educated staff members tended to report higher levels of organizational commitment. Other than education, sociodemographic characteristics failed to account for a significant amount of variance in organizational commitment. Implications: Because job satisfaction and organizational culture were strong predictors of commitment, interventions aimed at increasing job satisfaction and creating an organizational culture that values and respects staff members could be most effective in producing higher levels of organizational commitment.

Sillaste, G. G. (2004).  The Rural Teaching Community: Way of Life and Ways of Adapting  Russian Education & Society, 46, 1. 

The process of economic reforms in Russia has been accompanied by drastic and negative phenomena in rural education, by a worsening of the already large difference in levels of schooling of young people in the countryside and in the cities. The present study is one of the first attempts at a comprehensive approach, from the standpoint of sociology and social pedagogy, to a study of the specific character of the educational socium in the Russian countryside, the characteristics of its structure, and the evolution of the public's consciousness and behavior under the new social conditions. This study is in keeping with a problem that is vitally important to the society, the reform of secondary and higher education now under way. To serve as the main method of collecting the primary sociological information the authors made use of the questionnaire survey of students in their place of schooling, teachers in their place of work, and parents in their place of work and residence. Mostly the authors examine several aspects of schoolteachers' way of life and perception about living in the countryside. These study examines the following: (1) marital status of schoolteachers; (2) sources of income of the family of rural schoolteachers; (3) quality of life of rural schoolteachers; (4) access of schoolteachers to healthcare services; (5) rural schoolteachers' attitudes towards reforms in Russia; (6) schoolteachers' perception of safety in the countryside; and (7) adaptations made by schoolteachers to countryside life.

Sillaste, G. G. (2005).  The Influence of the Mass Media on the Life Plans of Rural Students  Russian Education & Society, 47, 12. 

Rural students, who live in the villages of Russia, are more resolved than ever to leave their native land. Their decision is influenced by the mass media, which plays a large role in determining their views and the way they relate to the world. In this article, the author examines the influence of the mass media on the life of rural students through a survey called "The Influence of the Mass Media on the Consciousness and Behavioral Dispositions of Rural Students" in 2003. The main focus of the survey are the young people between the ages of thirteen and eighteen and from the sixth through the eleventh grades. For the rural community the mass media represent a very important means of integration into the world of information, a vital means of understanding phenomena and events. In order to analyze the influence of TV on students' value orientations and life plans, it is necessary to take account of the size of the young TV audience in the countryside. To determine the extent which the TV contributes to the life plans of young people attending school in rural areas, the author turns to an analysis of the models of behavior and life strategies chosen by the students after they graduate from a rural school.

Silliman, Benjamin; Schumm, Walter R. (2004).  Adolescents' Perceptions of Marriage and Premarital Couples Education  Family Relations, 53, 5. 

Adolescents in rural and small city high schools in the western United States (N = 159) reported their perceptions of marriage and marriage education. They considered preparation for marriage important, but expressed lower familiarity with and lower intentions to attend programs than college students assessed previously. Youth valued parents, peers, volunteer couples, and personal experience as sources of information on marriage and were most interested in a brief, low-cost program led by a volunteer couple that focused on communication and conflict-resolution skills and issues. Youth attitudes toward and expectations of marriage reflected some realistic but many unrealistic expectations, consistent with their developmental stage. Implications for programming, research, and policy are discussed.

Silova, Iveta; Johnson, Mark S.; Heyneman, Stephen P. (2007).  Education and the Crisis of Social Cohesion in Azerbaijan and Central Asia  Comparative Education Review, 51, 2. 

In this article, the authors examine the role of education in the maintenance of social cohesion and the formation of new identities amid the economic decline and political volatility of six new nations: Azerbaijan, in the southern Caucasus, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in Central Asia. The authors first describe the historical legacies in education in the period before independence in 1991. Then they analyze the systemic crises in education since 1991, as well as the newly independent nations' often half-hearted attempts to embrace Islam and to find some place for religious and ethical thought and values in what had been aggressively secular educational systems. The authors pay particular attention to the ways in which the educational systems have deteriorated since 1991, examining economic deterioration, the degradation of educational infrastructure, and the decline in enrollment and retention, while considering the effects of these crises on social cohesion and political legitimacy. The authors conclude with some thoughts about the potential struggles that lie ahead as the peoples of Azerbaijan and Central Asia seek to reform their educational systems and thereby stabilize and revitalize the processes of social cohesion in their societies.

Silver, Edward A.; Castro, Alison M. (2003).  Mathematics Learning and Teaching in Rural Communities: Some Research Issues. Working Paper. 

In 1998 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held a working conference on issues pertaining to effective mathematics education in schools serving poor communities. This paper reprises some themes of that conference and highlights potentially important issues to consider in a research agenda with an intentional focus on rural mathematics teaching and learning. A section on student learning of mathematics in rural schools discusses the decline in rural students' mathematics achievement in grade 12, relative to other locales, and considers possible contributory factors: low parent and student aspirations and expectations toward education, perceptions that mathematics is not relevant, or lower access to advanced mathematics courses. A section on mathematics teaching points out that some efforts to improve mathematics teaching have been characterized by intensive professional development involving the whole school. Such sustained professional support and mentoring may not be available in small rural schools, and distance education alone may not be sufficient to overcome professional isolation. Examination of two data sets supports the notion that lack of local support impedes rural teachers' pursuit of innovation in mathematics teaching. Research on mathematics education in rural areas is scarce. There is an acute need to identify good sources of information on these issues, develop syntheses of what is known and what is needed, and raise awareness of the issues in the larger mathematics education community. | [FULL TEXT]

Silverman, Philip M. (2003).  The Origins of Molecular Biology: A Pedagogical Tool for the Professional Development of Pre-College Science Teachers  Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 31, 5. 

We examine the science and pedagogy behind a historical approach to the professional development of pre-college science (primarily biology) teachers. Our intention is to reach professional scientists, who, as a group, are uniquely qualified to provide experience and insights essential to this approach. The underlying research for this article has been carried out during an 8-week summer course for selected rural high school science teachers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Now configured as part of the broader Oklahoma Science Project, the Summer Course has been held during each of the past 10 years. The result of our experiences is a learning model that incorporates a research dynamic based on peer interactions and Robert K. Merton's concept of specified ignorance. This dynamic is organized around carefully chosen research topics based on simple, quantitative assays that played important roles in the development of our current understanding of genetic chemistry. These assays are starting points for rationally conceived research projects developed by the teachers themselves. We illustrate this approach with the plaque assay for bacterial viruses.

Silverstein, Gary; Bartfai, Nicole; Plishker, Laurie; Snow, Kyle; Frechtling, Joy (2001).  Evaluation of the Appalachian Regional Commission's Educational Projects: Final Report. 

This report presents findings from an evaluation of 84 educational projects funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) during the 1990's. Data were collected via document reviews, interviews, a mail survey completed by 78 projects, and eight site visits. Most projects provided services to rural areas or community segments most in need. Projects primarily served elementary and secondary students and adults. The majority of projects aimed at developing educational resources, providing training to students and other community residents, or installing telecommunications applications. The most common services offered were adult literacy, secondary education, basic skills, and math and science education. Almost three-quarters of survey respondents reported that their level of accomplishment met or exceeded their original expectations. Many projects were able to sustain themselves beyond their ARC grant, but not many had expanded significantly beyond their original mission. Recommendations were made to enable the ARC to further enhance its capacity to assist its educational projects. Performance goals should be clarified and expanded. The ARC should continue to enhance its application workbook and guidelines. Final report requirements should be standardized. The practice of conducting validation visits to a sample of ARC projects should be continued. Workshops in effective data collection and analysis strategies should be provided. The ARC database should be enhanced and its information dissemination practices reinforced. Seven extensive appendices present examples and analyses of outcomes, survey data, notes, methodology, project descriptions, and the survey questionnaire. | [FULL TEXT]

Simmons, Betty Jo (2005).  Recruiting Teachers for Rural Schools  Principal Leadership, 5, 5. 

Unquestionably, rural schools face many obstacles in their attempts to attract teachers. However, a survey of preservice teachers working in rural districts found that many of these obstacles stem from misconceptions or a lack of knowledge about what it means to live and work in a rural area. Perception, however, is reality and therefore deserves serious consideration. In this article, the author discusses the challenges most frequently mentioned by preservice teachers at the Longwood University in the rural community of Farmville, Virginia. These include: (1) lack of understanding about rural life; (2) isolation; (3) housing; (4) salaries; (5) teacher preparation background; and (6) limited facilities and personnel. She emphasizes the need for an active recruitment program to dispel myths and focus on the benefits of teaching and living in a rural area, and provides suggestions on how school systems can help teacher candidates feel more comfortable in making a decision to become a rural educator.

Sindelar, Paul T.; Bishop, Anne G.; Gill, Michele Gregoire; Connelly, Vincent; Rosenberg, Michael S. (2007).  Getting Teachers Where They're Needed Most: The Case for Licensure Reciprocity  Teacher Education and Special Education, 30, 2. 

Proponents tout licensure reciprocity as a means for alleviating teacher shortages. In this paper, we describe existing national and regional reciprocity agreements and consider the arguments underlying this proposition. We use research on teacher shortages, the reserve pool, within-state variation in demand, and teacher mobility to draw conclusions about the plausibility of this argument. Our analysis suggests that relocation from state to state has limited potential to alleviate shortages. Instead, the evidence suggests that areas of need are better defined by socioeconomic considerations than by state boundaries. A policy strategy with better potential for reducing shortages would provide incentives for teachers to work in low SES urban and rural schools.

Singh, Delar K.; Sakofs, Mitchell (2006).  General Education Teachers and Students with Physical Disabilities: A Revisit  [Online Submission] 

This article reports the findings of a research study that investigated the knowledge base and the perceptions of professional competence of 115 general education teachers as they relate to the inclusion of students with physical disabilities. Members of the sample represented elementary and secondary teachers who were teaching in rural, urban, and suburban schools of Eastern Connecticut. Findings indicate that the general education teachers do not appear to have adequate knowledge and skills to educate learners with physical disabilities in their classrooms. Further, majority of the general education teachers do not feel confident and fully prepared for the inclusion of learners with physical disabilities. | [FULL TEXT]

Singh, Kusum; Dika, Sandra (2003).  The Educational Effects of Rural Adolescents' Social Networks  Journal of Research in Rural Education, 18, 2. 

This study explored the social networks and sources of social support for rural high-school adolescents and how these are related to educational and psychological outcomes. We examined quality, frequency. and nature of social relationships of high school students to understand how size, density, heterogeneity, compositional quality of social network, and frequency of interaction affected educational aspiration and academic engagement of rural youth. Results showed that academic support and emotional support provided by network members explained a significant, though moderate, amount of variance in educational outcomes.

Sinisalo, Pentti (2004).  Changing Work Values and Expressed Educational Plans of Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Follow-Up of Three Cohorts in Finland  European Journal of Psychology of Education, 19, 3. 

Using a cross-sectional follow-up study we examined how different aspects of work were valued by three cohorts of adolescents 15-16 years of age in 1977 (n = 231), 1989 (n = 404) and 1995 (n = 276), and how these evaluations changed. The association of values with gender and educational plans was analysed. Self-actualising values became more important during the research period. Boys assigned greater weight to extrinsic work values than girls, and girls valued work hygiene values more than boys. The differences between girls and boys were clearer at the end of research period. Educational plans and gender were also related to values. Intrinsic values were valued more highly among girls who expressed plans to seek higher educational routes.

Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2006).  Educational Research and Evidence-Based Policy: The Mixed-Method Approach of the EPPE Project  Evaluation and Research in Education, 19, 2. 

In a review of the challenges to progress in providing social research evidence that might usefully inform policy, Oakley (2004) argues strongly that the "paradigm divide" between qualitative and quantitative research communities continues to constitute a major problem. Oakley refers to a number of recent critiques of what is seen as "misplaced positivism" in educational research and Hammersley (1997, 2005) has suggested that educational research findings are now routinely being applied uncritically to inform educational policy and practice. Research in early childhood education has not been immune to these general criticisms and specific concerns have also been expressed regarding alleged technicism, and the reification of dominant conceptions of early educational quality. In this paper we test these theoretical claims against the realities of conducting one recent and influential early years study: the Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) Project. The paper provides an account of the EPPE research and also locates the study in terms of the contemporary literature on mixed-method research. It is argued that similar mixed-method approaches may be applied to escape many of the problems identified by critics. We conclude with a discussion of the wider implications for educational research.

Skelton, Sheri (2004).  Thriving in Rural Alaska  English Journal, 93, 6. 

The word "rural" does not have the same meaning everywhere. A teacher's experience regarding the lessons learned about her students' knowledge of place and culture and the way in which she uses her understanding to teach more effectively is presented.

Skinner, Asheley Cockrell; Slifkin, Rebecca T.; Mayer, Michelle L. (2006).  Children--The Effect of Rural Residence on Dental Unmet Need for Children with Special Health Care Needs  Journal of Rural Health, 22, 1. 

Background: Unmet need for dental care is the most prevalent unmet health care need among children with special health care needs (CSHCN), even though these children are at a greater risk for dental problems. The combination of rural residence and special health care needs may leave rural CSHCN particularly vulnerable to high levels of unmet dental needs. Objective: To examine the effects of rural residence on unmet dental need for CSHCN. Methods: We use the nationally representative National Survey of CSHCN Needs. We performed logistic regression to estimate the independent effects of rural residence on the likelihood of having an unmet dental need, using a measure of unmet need based on professional society recommendations and a measure based on parental report. Results: Using either of the measures, a substantial percentage of CSHCN do not receive all needed dental care. Rural CSHCN are more likely to forgo needed dental care than their urban counterparts. Our results suggest that rural CSHCN have unmet needs for dental care due to both difficulty accessing care and because their parents do not recognize a need. Conclusion: Traditional access barriers for rural children, such as inadequate provider supply and lack of insurance, may increase unmet needs both directly and indirectly, through their effects on parents' perceptions of need. Reducing unmet needs for dental care in rural children with special needs will require addressing both access issues and parents' understanding of dental care need.

Skretta, John (2007).  Using Walk-Throughs to Gather Data for School Improvement  Principal Leadership, 7, 9. 

This article discusses walk-throughs as a valuable source of instructional data for teachers and administrators. Data gathering and analysis can be a dynamic and exciting process when walk-throughs are incorporated into a school's improvement plan as an instructional snapshot. At Norris High School in Firth, Nebraska, the principal uses walk-throughs to regularly monitor how teachers are using identified instructional strategies to improve student achievement in reading across the curriculum. This practice has required teachers and administrators alike to rethink their typical orientation to the data-gathering and data-analysis process. Ten tips for successful walk-throughs are presented.

Slavin, Peter (2006).  Long Way Home  Teacher Magazine, 17, 4. 

This article describes how students in rural parts of West Virginia spend up to four hours a day riding buses to far-flung schools, built as part of the state's consolidation drive. As a result, rural communities in West Virginia have fought back by filing lawsuits, electing their allies to school boards, and defeating pro-consolidation bond issues. Some community members have played a key role in helping the Webster County High School, a 75-student preK-8 school, stay open--even undertaking much-needed repairs--to spare younger kids long bus rides daily.

Sloan, Margaret Hall (2006).  Mathematics Education in Rural Georgia: Social, Political, and Economic Factors. Working Paper No. 35  [Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM)] 

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which social, political, and economic factors impact the teaching and learning of mathematics in a small rural school in Georgia. Focusing on a charter school that seeks to educate approximately 275 pre-K through 12th grade students, the study was intended to give voice to the residents of the county, with an emphasis on those who are most closely associated with the school: students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Additionally, county officials, employers, and other members of the community shared their thoughts about the school and the ways in which students are being prepared for the future. The data suggest that small rural communities can establish and maintain effective and, by most definitions, successful schools.  | [FULL TEXT]

Smagorinsky, Peter; Sanford, Amy Davis; Konopak, Bonnie (2006).  Functional Literacy in a Constructivist Key: A Nontraditional Student Teacher's Apprenticeship in a Rural Elementary School  Teacher Education Quarterly, 33, 4. 

In this study the authors investigate the experience of Sandy, a nontraditional university undergraduate whose student teaching took place in a small, impoverished rural community in the southwestern U.S. They focus on her student teaching experience with third graders in a community whose youngsters, living in rural poverty, were at-risk in their literacy development. Given Sandy's mission as a teacher, the authors attempt to understand what accounted for the conception of teaching that she ultimately adopted to guide her instruction during student teaching. To do so, they investigate the following question: Over the course of student teaching, within what tensions does Sandy's concept of functional literacy emerge, and how do these tensions contribute to and shape this conception? They focus in particular on her instruction in sequencing, a recurring emphasis in her teaching that was supported by both her mentor teacher and university supervisor. This concrete ability to order information, the authors infer, embodied Sandy's belief that students needed direction and order as part of the meaningful transactions with their worlds.

Smaller, Harry (2004).  Teacher Unions, (Neo) Liberalism and the State: The Perth County Conspiracy of 1885  Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 40, 1-2. 

In 1885, following a period of severe economic depression and social unrest in colonial Canada, state teachers in rural Perth County, Ontario met and formed the nucleus of what could clearly be described as a teachers' union. The idea spread quickly, and within six months the founding convention of a province-wide union was held in Toronto. Understandably, state officials were not pleased, and worked assiduously over the ensuing months to counter this movement. Building on the already-pervasive official discourse of individualized "professional responsibility", these officials began hinting about the possibility of teachers being "blessed" with a state-sanctioned "College of Preceptors" - a strategy that had previously been employed in England for a similar purpose. This article attempts to describe these events (and their sad outcomes), within the context of a review of the origins of state schooling systems, recent theory related to governmentality and individual (self-) regulation, and recent schooling "reforms" being undertaken concomitant with the (continuing) globalization of neo-liberal regimes of governance.

Smalley, Shelia Y.; Reyes-Blanes, Maria E. (2001).  Lessons Learned: Effective Strategies for Partnering with Rural African-American Parents. 

A study explored rural African American parents' perceptions of their own and teachers' levels of communication and involvement during the prereferral phase of the special education process. Nine African American parents from rural Mississippi, whose children received special education services, completed questionnaires and participated in a group discussion concerning parent and teacher behaviors during prereferral. The parents perceived themselves as having high levels of communication and involvement during the prereferral stage and perceived teachers as having low levels of communication and involvement. Parent indicated their information needs, desired teacher behaviors, and suggestions for improving the process. Participants also identified parent behaviors that are critical to success and satisfaction during the prereferral process and asked for clarification on a number of parents' rights issues. Suggestions are offered concerning ways that educators can bridge the gap and build support for parents during the prereferral stage of the special education process. | [FULL TEXT]

Smith, Abigail (2005).  Equity Within Reach: Insights from the Front Lines of America's Achievement Gap. Results from a Survey of Teach For America Corps Members 

There is growing consensus among educators and policy makers that the gap in academic outcomes that exists along socio-economic and racial lines is the most pressing educational challenge of the day. Given their daily work teaching in public schools in the nation's lowest-income urban and rural communities, Teach For America teachers--or "corps members"--bring a valuable perspective to the public discussion of this achievement gap. This report is the result of a survey of nearly 2,000 of these teachers finishing their first and second years in the classroom, along with almost 200 incoming corps members who were just beginning their training. The survey addressed corps members' beliefs about causes of and solutions to the achievement gap, as well as their own experiences in the classroom. The major findings of this survey are: (1) Educators have the power to close achievement gaps; (2) Expectations of students--from teachers, schools, parents, the general public, and students themselves--are both a powerful tool and a powerful obstacle; (3) Funding, in itself, is not the answer; and (4) The general public has an inaccurate understanding of issues regarding the achievement gap. Data tables are appended.  | [FULL TEXT]

Smith, Claire; Jackson, Gary (2006).  Decolonizing Indigenous Archaeology: Developments from Down Under  American Indian Quarterly, 30, 3-4. 

In this article the authors discuss recent developments in the decolonization of Australian archaeology. From the viewpoint of Indigenous Australians, much archaeological and anthropological research has been nothing more than a tool of colonial exploitation. For the last twenty years, many have argued for greater control over research and for a shaping of archaeological practice to provide greater benefits for communities. Drawing partly on their research with the Barunga-Wugularr communities of the Northern Territory and the Ngadjuri people of Burra, South Australia, this article highlights trends in Australian archaeology, focusing on contemporary concerns with how language can disempower Indigenous Australians, current measures being taken to implement Indigenous control over Indigenous culture, and the implications of conceptualizing research outcomes as shared intellectual property.

Smith, Debbie (2007).  Why Expand Dual-Credit Programs?  Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 31, 5. 

This study examined the relationship between participation and location of dual-credit enrollment and the educational aspirations of high school students. A total of 304 students from 5 rural Kansas high schools were surveyed. The return rate was 80.9%. Results indicated that participation in dual-credit programs had a positive and significant relationship with educational aspirations. Other independent variables that demonstrated strong predictive importance for educational aspirations were parents' educational levels and grades. The findings further indicated that concurrent enrollment location was a significant predictor of educational aspirations.

Smith, Edward; Caldwell, Linda (2007).  Adapting Evidence-Based Programs to New Contexts: What Needs to Be Changed?  Journal of Rural Health, 23, s1. 

Evidence-based substance use prevention programs have proliferated in schools and are being adopted by districts in rural settings and internationally. Little attention, however, has been paid to the adaptation process that occurs when these programs are moved to different contexts. In this commentary, the authors draw upon their experience with program adaptation to identify 6 areas for consideration when school-based programs are introduced in rural areas and in other countries. A key conclusion that emerges is that evidence-based programs should not be changed randomly but should be modified based on a careful review of program content, the theoretical underpinnings involved, and the context of the new environment.

Smith, Everard; Marsden, Terry (2004).  Exploring the "Limits to Growth" in UK Organics: Beyond the Statistical Image  Journal of Rural Studies, 20, 3. 

Following a slow start in the early 1990s, the conversion to, and diffusion of, organic farming across UK agriculture has been impressive even by European standards. Between 1996 and 2000, for example, organic land in the UK showed a nine-fold increase. And correspondingly, the retail value of organic foods grew by a factor of four. From a distance, these impressive growth figures appear to accentuate the popular discourse of a very bright future for organic farming in the UK. But lurking behind this seemingly successful method of combating declining farm-gate prices whilst addressing issues of food safety, animal welfare and environmental quality, is growing evidence that the evolution of organic supply chains in the UK might be entering a phase characterised by the traditional "farm-gate price-squeeze," so long an important feature of conventional agriculture. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to illuminate this emerging negative trend in UK organics, and to offer some suggestions for future public policy-making.

Smith, H. (2005).  Ownership and Capacity: Do Current Donor Approaches Help or Hinder the Achievement of International and National Targets for Education?  International Journal of Educational Development, 25, 4. 

Donor-initiated changes in aid delivery, to sector-wide approaches and direct budget support, have coincided with the focus on global development goals. Although intended to make funding more efficient and strengthen local ownership, they can stretch limited capacity. Literature on implementation of large-scale education reforms identifies three key sustainability factors related to policy, capacity and infrastructure. Current donor approaches targeting policy and budget may not adequately build the capacity required to improve quality and create sustainable reform of education systems. Building capacity is likely to be more critical than ownership; ignoring school-level capacity reduces the likelihood that targets will be achieved.

Smith, Linda Tuhiwai (2005).  Building a Research Agenda for Indigenous Epistemologies and Education  Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 36, 1. 

One emergent issue in relation to research on Indigenous epistemologies and education concerns the extent to which Indigenous epistemologies lead to new kinds of educational experiences and outcomes and pose new research questions. This commentary responds to the sense of limits and possibilities for Indigenous education that are raised by the research in this theme issue, and suggests that there are indeed new questions to be asked and answered through research.

Smith, Stephen E. (2006).  The Transition Practices of One County's Rural Elementary School Districts and Their Receiving Independent School District  Rural Educator, 27, 2. 

The purpose of this study was to describe the transition implementation experienced by rural elementary school district students entering the ninth grade at an independent school district, and to describe the ties to the school that exist among these same ninth grade students. This qualitative research involved interviewing 11 ninth grade students, six rural elementary school district counselors and/or administrators, and one independent school district counselor. Conclusions of the study revealed that the independent school district in the study does not have a structured transition implementation program to assist rural elementary school district students. Despite literature that supports the success of transitional programs for students and the fact that the county in the study once had a transitional program, there is currently no program in place. The one thing every rural elementary and independent school district staff member agreed on was that the transition process for the rural elementary students needs drastic improvement. Suggestions were provided by all participants to assist with improving transition. | [FULL TEXT]

Smith, Yolanda E.; Kritsonis, William Allan (2006).  National Insight: Toward A Clearer Understanding of Preparing High School Students for Passing State Examinations for Graduation in the State of Texas  [Online Submission] 

To graduate from High School in the state of Texas students must pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Many states are beginning to administer state exams as requirements for graduation. Schools continue to fall short of the basic philosophy of Existentialism that emphasizes, "starting where the student is". Education will continue to lose its focus until all students are afforded equality in preparation for the TAKS test. | [FULL TEXT]

Smithers, John; Joseph, Alun E.; Armstrong, Matthew (2005).  Across the Divide (?): Reconciling Farm and Town Views of Agriculture-Community Linkages  Journal of Rural Studies, 21, 3. 

In North America and elsewhere it is frequently asserted that changes in rural society have led to an economic and social "decoupling" of agriculture from the wider rural community. Casual analysis of contemporary media reporting and popular discourse would suggest that interactions between the two spheres are as often characterized by neglect or conflict as by complementarity and collaboration. However, scholarly interpretation of evolving relations between farming and the wider rural community, and whether these constitute a trend to relinking or decoupling, has remained elusive and problematic. This paper advocates for and articulates a case study approach to the analysis of "ambiguous interdependency" at the local level. Specifically, it is argued that much can be learned from a comparative analysis of farm and town views of sector-specific development trajectories and of implications for agriculture-community linkages. Insights obtained from in-depth interviews with 68 farm and town residents of South Huron County, Ontario, suggest a strong tendency for farmers to undervalue their importance and influence within the local community, but also highlight certain consequences of ongoing agricultural change and recent municipal restructuring that point toward the continued reshaping of agricultural community linkages. The research suggests both points of convergence and divergence that may be valuable in understanding, and perhaps managing, future development at the local scale and beyond.

Smithers, John; Lamarche, Jeremy; Joseph, Alun E. (2008).  Unpacking the Terms of Engagement with Local Food at the Farmers' Market: Insights from Ontario  Journal of Rural Studies, 24, 3. 

Amidst much discussion of the values and venues of local food, the Farmers' Market (FM) has emerged as an important, but somewhat uncertain, site of engagement for producers, consumers and local food "champions". Despite the evident certainty of various operational rules, the FM should be seen as a complex and ambiguous space where (contingent) notions of local, quality, authenticity and legitimacy find expression in communications and transactions around food. This paper seeks to extend current reflections on the nature of the contemporary FM and its relationship to the tenets of local food. An empirical analysis involving sellers, shoppers and managers at 15 markets in the Province of Ontario, Canada sought to understand how participants "read" the market as an operating space and subsequently construct the terms of (their) engagement. Findings suggest that Ontario FM customers wish to support farmers and farming via their food-related spending and express attachments to a wide range of alleged benefits pertaining to local food. Yet these values are also malleable in their meaning and amenable to trade-off against other considerations--particularly where social capital is concerned. The notion of "local" emerges as being widely valued but also highly interpretive in its meaning and variable in its absolute importance. The paper concludes with some reflection on the degree to which the findings support, challenge or modify current normative beliefs about local food at the FM.

Smolin, Oleg (2005).  The Financing of Education: Level and Mechanisms  Russian Education & Society, 47, 3. 

This paper explores the different economic reform models and mechanisms for financing education in Russia. Several financial innovations were used in governmental conceptions of the reform in education. However, the question of mechanisms for financing education has been brought to the forefront in highly industrialized countries that have established a rather high level of such financing and have a predominance of people with high and medium incomes. Any attempts to "do everything the way they do" while leaving the budget "the way ours is" is not likely to lead to anything except the traditional practice of "robbing Peter to pay Paul." It will never be possible to improve the mechanisms of the financing of education in Russia unless its level is raised. This, in turn, will require a change in the ideology and the priorities of the state's education policy.

Smutny, Joan Franklin, Ed. (2003).  Underserved Gifted Populations: Responding to Their Needs and Abilities. Perspectives on Creativity Research. 

Twenty-five papers address issues of the underserved gifted, including environmental influences, multicultural and global factors, special learning problems, and the highly gifted and creatively gifted. The papers are: "Twenty-five Teaching Strategies that Promote Learning Success for Underserved Gifted Populations" (Jerry Flack); "The Invisible Gifted Child" (Dorothy Funk-Weblo); "School Guidance and Counseling for the Underserved Gifted: Strategies To Facilitate the Growth of Leaders, Thinkers, and Change Agents" (Garnet Millar and E. Paul Torrance); "Lost and Found: Achievers in Urban Schools" (Alexinia Baldwin); "Urban Gifted Youth" (Beverly Shaklee and Awilda Hamilton); "Rural Gifted Students: Isolated and Alone?" (Patricia Hollingsworth); "Gifted and Poor: America's Quiet Crisis" (Al Ramirez); "Delivering Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Programs to the Gifted and Talented: A Classic Yet Progressive Option for the New Millennium" (Ernesto Bernal); "Poised on the Threshold of a New Paradigm for Giftedness: Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds" (Todd Fletcher and Dorothy Massalski); "Na Pua No'Eau: the Hawaiian Perspective of Giftedness" (Darlene Martin and others); "The DISCOVER Assessment and Curriculum Models" (Aleene Nielson); "Maximizing the High Potential of Minority Economically Disadvantaged Students" (Dorothy Sisk); "Tess Questions" (Stuart Tonemah); "Developing the Creative Talents of Kenya's Youth" (Margaretta wa Gacheru); "Gifted Education in Brazil" (Maria Sabatella); "Underachieving Gifted Children" (Susan Hansford);"Underachievers: Students Who Don't Perform" (Jean Peterson); "Underachievement: A Continuing Dilemma" (Sylvia Rimm); "Behavioral, Therapeutic, and Academic Programming for Disturbed Gifted Children" (Cheryl Sawyer and Derek Delgado); "Gifted Girls: Underachieving Politely, Blending Perfectly, Disappearing Quietly, Succeeding Differently" (Spomenka Calic-Newman); "'The Road Less Travelled By': The Different World of Highly Gifted Children" (Miraca U. M. Gross); "Expanding Horizons of Highly Gifted Children" (Karen Morse and Elizabeth Meckstroth); "Searching for Talent through the Visual Arts" (Jeanie Goertz); "The Highly Creative Person: A Minority of One" (Karen Meador and Gail Lewis). (Individual papers contain references.)

Snyder, Anastasia R.; Brown, Susan L.; Condo, Erin P. (2004).  Residential Differences in Family Formation: The Significance of Co-Habitation  Rural Sociology, 69, 2. 

We update and extend prior research on residential differences in women's family formation experiences using data from the 1995 cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth. Residential differences in the timing of family formation behaviors are examined, including first birth, first cohabitation, and first marriage. Our study emphasizes the significance of cohabitation, estimating the effect of geographic residence on type of union formation (i.e., cohabitation versus marriage) and relationship context of first birth (i.e., cohabiting, married, or single). We find that (1) the timing of family formation behaviors, including marriage and childbearing, differs by residence; (2) nonmetro women are more likely to enter marriage and marry at younger ages than their metro counterparts; and (3) when marriage and cohabitation are presented as competing risks, nonmetro women are more likely to marry than cohabit both as a first union and a first birth context.

Snyder, Anastasia R.; McLaughlin, Diane K. (2004).  Female-Headed Families and Poverty in Rural America  Rural Sociology, 69, 1. 

Employing data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 March supplements of the Current Population Surveys, this study examines changing household and family structure in metro and nonmetro areas and corresponding changes in poverty, emphasizing female-headed families with children under age 18. We also pay particular attention to the structure and economic conditions of subfamilies with children during this period. Household and family structure in suburban metro and nonmetro areas were quite similar by 2000. In contrast, families and households in nonmetro and metro central city areas were similar in their high prevalence of poverty. Finally, the risk of female-headed families and subfamilies with children living in poverty is highest for nonmetro residents, and their individual characteristics suppress rather than account for this disadvantage. This pattern persisted across the decades studies, despite economic growth during the 1990s.

Soliva, Reto (2007).  Landscape Stories: Using Ideal Type Narratives as a Heuristic Device in Rural Studies  Journal of Rural Studies, 23, 1. 

In many European mountain areas, including the Swiss Alps, agriculture has been on the decline in the last decades. This has led to changes in land use, landscape and biodiversity; changes which are perceived, explained and valued by people in different ways. In this paper, the views of local stakeholders in the Surses valley, Switzerland regarding these changes are synthesised in four ideal type narratives that take into account theoretical concepts. The aims of the paper are: firstly, to show how ideal type narratives can be constructed and used as a heuristic device in rural studies; and secondly, to understand the diverse views, values and assumptions of stakeholders regarding changes in the Alpine landscape, land use and biodiversity. The four ideal type narratives are: (1) a wilderness narrative which assumes a continued decline of the regional economy leading to land abandonment and wilderness; (2) a modernisation narrative whose proponents believe in continued technological progress and support from outside; (3) a subsistence narrative that believes in the future of the autonomous, subsistence-oriented farmer as the ideal manager of the cultural landscape; and (4) an endogenous development narrative, which stresses the endogenous development potential of mountain regions and the need for adaptations and innovations on the part of the local population. It is argued that ideal type narratives are not only a useful heuristic device in research, but that they have the potential to minimise misunderstandings in stakeholder discussions and thereby contribute to more fruitful debates in participatory landscape and biodiversity planning processes.

Song, Hana; Fish, Margaret (2006).  Demographic and Psychosocial Characteristics of Smokers and Nonsmokers in Low-Socioeconomic Status Rural Appalachian 2-Parent Families in Southern West Virginia  Journal of Rural Health, 22, 1. 

Context: Rural Appalachian women living in poverty have a high prevalence of prenatal smoking; yet, few studies have examined this issue. Purpose: To investigate the demographic and psychosocial characteristics of prenatal smokers and nonsmokers in low-socioeconomic status, rural Appalachian 2-parent families. Methods: During an 18-month period, two thirds of eligible low-socioeconomic status prenatal patients were recruited for a longitudinal study from a community health clinic in a rural West Virginia county. Data for the present report are from 92 women with a husband/partner (37 smokers and 55 nonsmokers) who completed a prenatal interview in the last trimester of pregnancy. This interview included demographics, personality traits, self-esteem problems, social support, and marital/partner relationship. Findings: Compared to nonsmokers, prenatal smokers were less likely to have completed high school, less extroverted, and also had lower self-esteem, less intimate support, and more negative marital relationship. Conclusions: High school graduation and variables related to positive personality and supportive relationships distinguished smokers from nonsmokers. The causal relationship between these variables and prenatal smoking requires more work in larger and varied populations, and this study provides some direction for ongoing longitudinal investigation.

Sookrajh, Reshma; Gopal, Nirmala; Maharaj, Brij (2005).  Interrogating Inclusionary and Exclusionary Practices: Learners of War and Flight  Perspectives in Education, 23, 1. 

There has been a significant increase in the number of undocumented people entering South Africa. A number of them include refugees. Many refugees are destitute and often denied basic needs such as health and education. Besides intentional exclusion by citizens and authorities, some immigrant children are precluded from education because they cannot gain access to schooling. This article captures the possibilities and constraints that are experienced by a selected group of refugee learners, in a school in which these children find themselves. The methodology derives from powerful narratives which are used as tools to analyse exclusionary and inclusionary practices, the relationship between which is presented as bi-directional. It is argued that the notion of exclusion and inclusion is multilayered. Different constructs of inclusion are developed around the thought, practices and experiences of refugee learners within the hosting school community. It is argued that what is offered by the school is a strikingly conservative discourse of perceived inclusion in the ways in which refugee learner practices get constructed. A theory of enforced humanitarianism emerges on the part of the school. It is only when we change this perspective on vulnerability that we are able to accept a more creative and effective way of including refugee learners who constantly believe that they are present in one place, but belong somewhere else.

Southworth, Caleb (2006).  The Dacha Debate: Household Agriculture and Labor Markets in Post-Socialist Russia  Rural Sociology, 71, 3. 

The paper examines the relationship among household agriculture, wages and household structure using panel data on urban households from 1994-2003. Experts using cross-sectional data differ on whether Russian "dachas" or garden houses are a survival strategy that households use in times of economic difficulty or a hobby of the more affluent. This analysis uses time-series data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to assess the effect of household status on the likelihood of participation in agriculture in subsequent years. These data show that households turn to gardening after the onset of economic uncertainty. Estimates of the value of the harvest from dacha gardens suggest that they are profitable and that households make economic calculations. Finally, the regional labor-market participation rate is modeled as a function of garden land to show that where gardens are more prevalent, labor markets allocate a smaller fraction of the working-age population.

Spader, Karin A. (2007).  Abandoned School Buildings in Rural Illinois and Their Conversions. Rural Research Report. Volume 18, Issue 4, Spring 2007  [Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs] 

In 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included neighborhood schools in its list of America's Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places, noting how many small neighborhood schools were closing. In rural areas, particularly, this may be caused by steadily declining enrollment that has forced districts to consolidate and close one, or more, school buildings still in usable condition. Other reasons for closure may include lack of money for needed repairs and pressures to build new, rather than renovate, old facilities, as well as a lack of public support for preserving existing school buildings. While these issues partly explain school closings, they do not indicate what happens to abandoned buildings, and, because these buildings can be either an asset or an eyesore in small towns, finding suitable and productive uses is an important issue for community leaders. This report reviews recent literature regarding the benefits of revitalizing abandoned school buildings and presents a summary of findings from a survey of administrators involved in building closures. Examples of school buildings successfully converted to a variety of purposes are provided. School buildings have been converted to use as Head Start and after-school programs, community centers, local organizational headquarters, specialty malls (gifts, furniture, antiques), athletic clubs and commercial enterprises such as photography studios, tanning salons, and restaurants. The author hopes to illustrate options that can be explored in communities before a closed school building is abandoned and reaches sufficient deterioration to no longer have a productive use.

Spano, Richard; Nagy, Steve (2005).  Social Guardianship and Social Isolation: An Application and Extension of Lifestyle/Routine Activities Theory to Rural Adolescents  Rural Sociology, 70, 3. 

Although the overall crime rate dropped between 1993 and 2000, both adolescent violence and violent crime in rural areas has been on the rise. However, little research has been conducted on the determinants of rural violence using targeted regional samples of rural youth. This study examines the applicability of lifestyle/routine activities (RA) theory to a large sample of rural adolescents from Alabama. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that: (1) social guardianship reduces the risk of assault and robbery victimization; (2) blacks are less likely to be assault and robbery victims; and (3) males are less likely to be robbery victims. Social isolation at the individual level is also a strong risk factor for both robbery and assault victimization. The theoretical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Spaulding, Seth (2002).  Recent Research on the Impact of Alternative Education Delivery Systems in Honduras. 

In Honduras, 88 percent of the rural population has 6 years or less of formal education. Several distance education schemes have been undertaken to address both low rural educational levels and the destruction of schools by Hurricane Mitch. This paper reports on recent studies of two distance education efforts with substantial international support. Since the mid-1990s, USAID has supported EDUCATODOS, which originally covered grades 1-6 using packages of printed materials supplemented by radio lessons. In 1999, the program was extended to grades 7-9, and audio materials were distributed on cassettes and CDs. Telebasica is based on the Mexican Telesecundaria program and serves grades 7-9 using videotapes and printed materials from Mexico. Telebasica operates during the day with trained teachers in converted schools, while EDUCATODOS operates in the evening in any available space using volunteer facilitators. A 1997 evaluation of EDUCATODOS found that the program had offered 120,000 person-hours of schooling to Honduran youth and adults at 28 percent of the cost of equivalent traditional schooling. EDUCATODOS students had higher achievement than traditional elementary students, but dropout rates were significant, especially among indigenous groups. In 2002, ongoing research projects are evaluating program impacts on women and on the economy, documenting changes in student attitudes and character at the seventh-grade level, studying volunteer facilitators (teachers), and examining elements of program organization and management. Preliminary findings indicate that the two programs are raising student achievement, improving student self-confidence and employment potential, and offering innovative and flexible delivery. | [FULL TEXT]

Spears, Brad; Sanchez, David; Bishop, Jane; Rogers, Sharon; DeJong, Judith A. (2006).  Level 2 Therapeutic Model Site  American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center, 13, 2. 

L2, one of the original sites first funded under the Therapeutic Residential Model Initiative in 2001-2002, is operated as a peripheral dormitory This dormitory cares for 185 boys and girls in grades 1-12 who attend local public schools. L2 presented an outstanding proposal which identified gaps in services and presented a reasonable budget to address those gaps by adding additional mental health services and increasing the number of residential and recreation staff. With only minor modifications to this budget, the site efficiently and effectively implemented the strategies it had proposed and utilized evaluation feedback to fine-tune systems and maximize positive outcomes. The Therapeutic Residential Model funds enabled the site to move from a functional dormitory to a therapeutic residential situation where the needs of students are assessed and addressed. Outcome indicators in spring 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 showed impacts in a number of areas when compared with the baseline year of 2000-2001: (1) Retention of students steadily increased going from 40.7% in 2000-2001 to 68.4% in 2004-2005; (2) 75 students graduated from high school during the four Therapeutic Residential Model years, compared with 41 in the preceding four years; (3) Academic Proficiency and ACT scores improved significantly; (4) Thirty-day cigarette use dropped from 62% in spring 2001 to 38% in spring 2005 among 7th and 8th graders, from 58% to 33% among 9th and 10th graders, and from 72% to 29% among 11th and 12th graders; and (5) Alienation indices showed an increase in feelings of inclusion and a decrease in lack of meaning. This site is an outstanding example of what can be done with a well-designed and responsibly implemented Therapeutic Model Program, and the measurable impacts which can result from such strategic use of resources.  | [FULL TEXT]

Spence, Richard T.; Wallisch, Lynn S. (2007).  Alcohol and Drug Use in Rural Colonias and Adjacent Urban Areas of the Texas Border  Journal of Rural Health, 23, s1. 

Context: Little is known about substance use and treatment utilization in rural communities of the United States/Mexico border. Purpose: To compare substance use and need and desire for treatment in rural colonias and urban areas of the border. Methods: Interviews were conducted in 2002-2003 with a random sample of adults living in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, adjacent to the Mexican border. The present analysis compares responses from 400 residents of rural colonias to those of 395 residents of cities and towns in the same geographic region. Findings: While the prevalence of drug use and drug-related problems was similar in both areas, binge drinking and alcohol dependence were higher in rural colonias than in urban areas and remained so after taking demographic and neighborhood variables into account. An increase in illicit drug use and substance-related problems in rural but not urban areas was seen when comparing results from this study with those of a previous survey conducted in 1996. The percentage of adults in potential need of treatment and the percentage motivated to seek it were similar in both urban and rural areas. However, colonia residents were more likely than their urban counterparts to be recent immigrants and to have lower incomes and educational attainment, factors that can increase the barriers they face in getting needed services. Conclusions: Rural areas are "catching up" with urban areas in problematic substance use. Given the potential barriers to accessing treatment services in rural areas, efforts should be focused on reaching those residents.

Spoth, Richard (2007).  Opportunities to Meet Challenges in Rural Prevention Research: Findings from an Evolving Community-University Partnership Model  Journal of Rural Health, 23, s1. 

Various rural prevention research challenges have been articulated through a series of sessions convened since the mid 1990s by the National Institutes of Health, particularly the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Salient in this articulation was the need for effective collaboration among rural practitioners and scientists, with special consideration of accommodating the diversity of rural areas and surmounting barriers to implementation of evidence-based interventions. This paper summarizes the range of challenges in rural prevention research and describes an evolving community-university partnership model addressing them. The model entails involvement of public school staff and other rural community stakeholders, linked with scientists by Land Grant University-based Extension system staff. Examples of findings from over 16 years of partnership-based intervention research projects include those on engagement of rural residents, quality implementation of evidence-based interventions, and long-term community-level outcomes, as well as factors in effectiveness of the partnerships. Findings suggest a future focus on building capacity for practitioner-scientist collaboration and developing a network for more widespread implementation of the partnership model in a manner informed by lessons learned from partnership-based research to date.

Spoth, Richard; Randall, G. Kevin; Shin, Chungyeol (2008).  Increasing School Success through Partnership-Based Family Competency Training: Experimental Study of Long-Term Outcomes  School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 1. 

An expanding body of research suggests an important role for parent or family competency training in children's social-emotional learning and related school success. This article summarizes a test of a longitudinal model examining partnership-based family competency training effects on academic success in a general population. Specifically, it examines indirect effects of the Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) on school engagement in 8th grade and academic success in the 12th grade, through direct ISFP effects on intervention-targeted outcomes--parenting competencies and student substance-related risk--in 6th grade. Twenty-two rural schools were randomly assigned to either ISFP or a minimal-contact control group; data were collected from 445 families. Following examination of the equivalence of the measurement model across group and time, a structural equation modeling approach was used to test the hypothesized model and corresponding hypothesized structural paths. Significant effects of the ISFP were found on proximal intervention outcomes, intermediate school engagement, and the academic success of high school seniors.

Spoth, Richard; Redmond, Cleve; Shin, Chungyeol; Azevedo,Kari (2004).  Brief Family Intervention Effects on Adolescent Substance Initiation: School-Level Growth Curve Analyses 6 Years Following Baseline.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 3. 

This study examines the effects of 2 brief family-focused interventions on the trajectories of substance initiation over a period of 6 years following a baseline assessment. The 2 interventions, designed for general-population families of adolescents, were the 7-session Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) (Molgaard & Spoth, 2001) and the 5-session Preparing for the Drug Free Years Program (PDFY) (Catalano, Kosterman, Haggerty, Hawkins, & Spoth, 1999). Thirty-three rural public schools were randomly assigned to the ISFP, the PDFY, or a minimal-contact control condition. The authors evaluated the curvilinear growth observed in school-level measures of initiation using a logistic growth curve analysis. Alcohol and tobacco composite use indices-as well as lifetime use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana-and lifetime drunkenness, were examined. Significant intervention-control differences were observed, indicating favorable delays in initiation in the intervention groups.

Squires, Don (2003).  Responding to Isolation and Educational Disadvantage.  Education in Rural Australia, 13, 1. 

Australian rural communities often suffer from psychological isolation in addition to geographic isolation. Human and social capital are powerful antidotes to psychological isolation and are closely dependent on learning. Rural schools can reverse the negative effects of isolation on educational outcomes if they first work on building human and social capacity in the community.

(2005).  State Council Resolutions on Further Strengthening Rural Education  Chinese Education & Society, 38, 4. 

Several resolutions on strengthening work in rural education have been made in order to accelerate development of rural education in China, deepen reform of rural education, guarantee a well-off society, and harmonize rural and urban development. This article presents a detailed plan of actions for each resolution. The resolutions are enumerated as follows: (1) Emphasizing the important place of rural education in comprehensive construction of a comfortably well-off society and making rural education the most important of all education work; (2) Speeding up the progress of the Two Basics and improving the results and quality of universal compulsory education; (3) Upholding service toward "Three Agricultures," greatly empowering the development of vocational education and adult education, and deepening reform of rural education; (4) Having a workable "with country as priority" management system to meet the needs of rural compulsory education, increasing investment, and improving funding-protection mechanisms; (5) Establishing and safeguarding a system to assist students from families in economic difficulties and guaranteeing rural children of school age their right to compulsory education; (6) Accelerating the implementation of reform of the personnel management system in rural primary and secondary schools and forcefully raising the quality of teachers; (7) Implementing modern distance education in rural primary and secondary schools, promoting quality education resources that can be shared, and raising the quality and the benefits of rural education; and (8) Conscientiously strengthening leadership and mobilizing all of society's concern and support for rural education undertakings. [Translated by Jennifer Eagleton.]

Stacey, Kaye (2005).  Accessing Results from Research on Technology in Mathematics Education  Australian Senior Mathematics Journal, 19, 1. 

In his recent article in this journal, John Gough (2004) concludes that the practical results of the considerable academic research undertaken at the University of Melbourne into the uses and impacts of graphics calculators and CAS (computer algebra systems) should be made more widely available in journals for teachers. This short article is intended to provide teachers and others with a brief guide to our research and how the findings and products can be obtained most easily. In this way, we hope that teachers might be able to access what they need from our research. The publications referenced here are the more accessible articles, mainly in Australian teachers' conferences and journals, rather than those internationally published. | [FULL TEXT]

Stack, Michelle; Kelly, Deirdre M. (2006).  Popular Media, Education, and Resistance  Canadian Journal of Education, 29, 1. 

Although the mainstream media and education systems are key institutions that perpetuate various social inequalities, spaces exist--both within and beyond these institutions--where adults and youth resist dominant, damaging representations and improvise new images. In this article, we address why educational researchers and educators should attend closely to popular media and democratizing media production. We analyze and illustrate strategies for engaging with and critiquing corporate news media and creating counter-narratives. We explore media education as a key process for engaging people in dialogue and action as well as present examples of how popular culture texts can be excavated as rich pedagogical resources.

Stair, Anthony; Rephann, Terance J.; Heberling, Matt (2006).  Demand for Public Education: Evidence from a Rural School District  Economics of Education Review, 25, 5. 

This study examines the question of how much households are willing to pay for improvements in the quality of local public education in two areas of a rural school district in Pennsylvania. The study uses the contingent valuation technique to obtain micro-data by personal interview on demand for improved public school quality. Estimates of willingness to pay are computed and probit/Tobit analyses are used to determine what household characteristics are associated with household willingness to pay. The results of this analysis indicate that the majority of respondents do value improved public school quality and that residents would pay up to approximately an additional 25% of current educational budgets for a 10% improvement in school quality as measured by achievement test performance. However, lower income households and those with fewer connections to the local public school are less likely to be supportive of increased expenditures.

Stancavage, Frances B.; Mitchell, Julia H.; de Mello, Victor Bandeira; Gaertner, Freya E.; Spain, Angeline K.; Rahal, Michelle L. (2006).  National Indian Education Study. Part II: The Educational Experiences of Fourth- and Eighth-Grade American Indian and Alaska Native Students. Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2007-454  [National Center for Education Statistics] 

This report presents results from a national survey, conducted in 2005, that examined the educational experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in grades 4 and 8, with particular emphasis on the integration of native language and culture into school and classroom activities. Students, teachers, and school principals all participated in the survey, which constituted Part II of the National Indian Education Study (NIES). NIES was a two-part study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), with the support of the Office of Indian Education (OIE), for the U.S. Department of Education. Part I of NIES collected information on the academic performance of AI/AN students, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This report describes important aspects of the educational experiences of AI/AN students in grades 4 and 8. Although the central focus of the report is AI/AN students, information is also provided about non-AI/AN students, where available, so that the reader can compare the characteristics of AI/AN students with their peers from different backgrounds. The source of the information on non-AI/AN students is NAEP, which included a survey component to collect limited demographic information about all students who participated in 2005. The NAEP survey, however, did not collect information on the role of AI/AN culture or language in education--topics which are the central focus of NIES. Technical Notes and a Data Appendix are also included.  [For "National Indian Education Study. Part I: The Performance of American Indian and Alaska Native Fourth-and Eighth-Grade Students on NAEP 2005 Reading and Mathematics Assessments Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2006-463," see ED491693.] | [FULL TEXT]

Stancic, Nancy; Mullen, Patricia Dolan; Prokhorov, Alexander V.; Frankowski, Ralph F.; McAlister, Alfred L. (2003).  Continuing Medical Education: What Delivery Format Do Physicians Prefer?  Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 23, 3. 

Background: Although physicians are in a unique position to prevent life-threatening outcomes by counseling patients to stop smoking, many of them miss the opportunity to intervene in their patients' use of tobacco. Nicotine Dependence Across the Lifespan was developed as a continuing medical education (CME) program to teach and encourage physicians to deliver effective tobacco prevention and tobacco cessation counseling. Methods: This CME program was offered to Texas physicians, free of charge, in three formats: live lectures, videotapes, and World Wide Web-based training. The program targeted physicians in four rural areas of Texas (San Angelo, Harlingen, Tyler; and Lubbock), where high smoking rates are prevalent and the number of professional smoking cessation services is low. We examined the sociodemographic characteristics of the participating physicians, factors in their decisions to participate in the program, and the extent to which their reported CME format preferences were associated with age, gender, race, profession, and location. Results: The four factors identified--professional development, cost, personal control, and convenience/complexity--explained 76.9% of the variance describing the reasons physicians participated in the CME offering. The physicians' preferred CME format was live lectures: based on responses, this did not differ across age, gender, race/ethnicity, and location. Discussion: Live lecture continues to be a preferred format of CME for physicians in four rural areas of Texas, yet research continues to show that lecture results in only the lowest level of behavioral change.

Stanfield, Gayle M. (2006).  Incentives: The Effects on Reading Attitude and Reading Behaviors of Third-Grade Students  [Online Submission] 

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether third grade literacy students who receive incentive rewards as part of their instruction will exhibit significantly higher reading habits and attitudes toward recreational reading than they did before the incentives were introduced. The study examined 19 third grade students with fairly high intellectual abilities. The students were given an Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) as a pre-and post-measure. Weekly data were kept on the number of Accelerated Reader (AR) books read as well as scores on the AR tests. Baseline was the first four weeks of school, the incentives (prizes) were given the next four weeks. Findings indicated that students' attitudes became worse over the entire length of the study. Prizes included certificates, food, books, pencils, bookmarks, or anything that might be attractive to the recipient. The conclusion was that the reading incentives were counter productive even though the number of books read and the scores on the test remained the same. Appended are: (1) Copy of Letter to Parents Requesting Permission for Their Child to Participate in Study; (2) Elementary Reading Attitude Survey; and (3) Student Reading Log.  | [FULL TEXT]

Stanley, Linda R.; Comello, Maria Leonora G.; Edwards, Ruth W.; Marquart, Beverly S. (2008).  School Adjustment in Rural and Urban Communities: Do Students from "Timbuktu" Differ from Their "City Slicker" Peers?  Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 2. 

The primary purpose of our study was to explore the effects of rurality on school adjustment and other school-related variables. Using data from 167,738 7th-12th graders located in a national sample of 185 predominantly white communities, multilevel models were estimated for perceived school performance and school liking using a variety of individual-level (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and peer school performance) and community/school-level variables (e.g., school size, rurality, and percentage free/reduced lunch) as predictor variables. Rurality was not significantly related to school adjustment, but rather, the characteristics of individuals living within those communities were. Results also indicated that participation in school and non-school activities, a strength of rural schools, can play a positive role in school adjustment. Given the significant relationships of income and parental education to all of the school-related variables, a key long-term strategy may lie in improving the economic climate of rural areas.

Starlings, Cable; McLean, Debbie; Moran, Patrick (2002).  Teacher Attrition and Special Education in Alaska. 

This study examined reasons for the high level of attrition among special education teachers in Alaska. A survey was sent to a stratified sample of 225 special educators in either remote, rural, or urban locations. Also surveyed were teachers who had removed their special education credentials and teachers who had moved out of state in 2001. A total of 161 surveys were completed. Findings indicate that dissatisfaction with salary, administrative support, job related conditions such as paperwork, collegial support, and working with paraprofessionals were all associated with teacher departures. Results of the study also reveal an aging workforce of special education teachers in Alaska. The study predicts even greater departures from the teaching ranks of special educators due to the combination of working conditions and an aging workforce. The paper presents a detailed analysis of responses to each question. An appendix provides percent responses to each question by different response groups. The survey instrument itself is also appended. | [FULL TEXT]

Starnes, Bobby Ann (2006).  What We Don't Know "Can" Hurt Them: White Teachers, Indian Children  Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 5. 

White teachers in Indian schools often find themselves unprepared for their task. They do not understand the history, culture, communities, and learning needs of their students. In this article, the author challenges these educators to become better teachers of Indian children and shares some of the lessons she learned about becoming a better teacher of Indian children. She also provides ways on how reservation school boards and Native schoolpeople can help White teachers meet the challenges of teaching Indian children.  | [FULL TEXT]

Statchowski, Laura L.; Frey, Cristopher J. (2005).  Student Teachers' Reflections on Service and Learning in Navajo Reservation Communities: Contextualizing the Classroom Experience  School Community Journal, 15, 2. 

This report reviews service learning activities performed by student teachers in the American Indian Reservation Project in their placement communities across the Navajo Nation. Parameters for this required, academic assignment included the selection of activities independent of their schools' academic or extracurricular programs; completion of activities with supporting Navajo community members; and adherence to the "three R's:" "realistic" tasks serving the community, a strong "reflective" component, and "reciprocal exchange" between equals. Many varying service-learning projects were performed. The student teachers' insightful written reports described important outcomes in terms of new knowledge acquired, a deeper appreciation for the circumstances of others' lives, and greater acceptance in their placement communities. Knowledge of the community and its people, including their backgrounds, beliefs, traditions, and values, contributes to the creation of a classroom context in which teachers can more effectively serve their elementary and secondary pupils.  | [FULL TEXT]

Stavenhagen, Rodolfo (2008).  Building Intercultural Citizenship through Education: A Human Rights Approach  European Journal of Education, 43, 2. 

This article analyses the challenges posed by traditional ethnic and linguistic minorities in multicultural states and more specifically the problems faced by indigenous peoples and communities. Their educational and cultural needs and demands are increasingly being framed in the language of human rights, based on the expanding international legal and institutional human rights system. The United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, endorsed a rights-based approach to development, human rights education is a growing field in educational practice, respect for cultural diversity is now enshrined in international and domestic laws, and the right of every person to education and to culture has become a mainstay of international human rights principles to which a majority of the world's states has subscribed.

Stedman, Richard C.; Parkins, John R.; Beckley, Thomas M. (2004).  Resource Dependence and Community Well-Being in Rural Canada  Rural Sociology, 69, 2. 

The well-being of residents of resource dependent communities is a question of traditional interest to rural sociologists. The label "resource dependent" obscures how this relationship may vary between particular resource industries, regions, or indicators of well-being. Few analyses have compared the relationship between well-being and resource dependence across different industries, nor tested competing theories about the relationship between resource dependence and well-being. Our paper presents an overview of the relationship between resource dependence agriculture, fisheries, mining, energy, forestry and human well being in Canada. Analysis of 1996 Statistics Canada data revealed a great deal of variation in the effect of "resource" dependence on indicators of well-being (e.g., human capital, unemployment, income): some industries exhibit fairly positive outcomes (e.g., agriculture), others more negative outcomes (.g., fishing). Consistent with analyses conducted in the United States, these relationships vary by region, suggesting the need for models that incorporate the particulars of place and industry.

Steele, Jenessa C.; Patrick, Julie Hicks; Goins, R. Turner; Brown, David K. (2005).  Self-Rated Health Among Vulnerable Older Adults in Rural Appalachia  Journal of Rural Health, 21, 2. 

Self-rated health (SRH) predicts service use, morbidity, and mortality. Additionally, SRH has been associated with indices of psychological well-being. The main focus of the study was to investigate important differences among the lower spectrum of SRH (ie, fair and poor) on indices of well-being. In-person interviews collected data from 207 (M age = 75.8) older rural adults. Data were used to examine differences between those reporting poor, fair, and good or excellent SRH on measures of demographics, and physical and psychological health. Significant differences emerged between levels of SRH in relation to measures of physical and psychological health. Specifically, individuals with poor SRH were significantly more likely to have (1) illnesses, (2) problems with basic and cognitive tasks of daily living, and (3) depressed affect than individuals reporting good or excellent health. Individuals with poor SRH were significantly more likely to have problems with basic and cognitive tasks of daily living than individuals with fair SRH. No significant differences were found between people reporting fair and good or excellent SRH on illnesses and depressed affect. Results suggest that future research should investigate the expansion of the lower-end of the SRH measure to more accurately assess SRH among vulnerable, rural older adults. Such efforts would better inform health care providers, practitioners, and policy makers in rural areas as to how SRH affects the well-being of vulnerable older adults.

Stein, Gabriela Livas; Hussong, Andrea (2007).  Social and Academic Expectations about High School for At-Risk Rural Youth  American Secondary Education, 36, 1. 

This study examines high school expectancies in a sample of at-risk, rural youth, and how these expectancies relate to 8th grade functioning, 9th grade functioning, and 9th grade experiences of high school. A total of 76 eighth-graders and their parents, drawn from a larger study of the transition to high school, participated in interviews the summer before 9th grade regarding students' expectations about high school. 59 of these students and their parents were again interviewed the summer following 9th grade to examine adjustment to high school. Overall, 8th grade students, such with greater academic competence and a more positive view of the school environment had more positive high school expectancies. High school expectancies did not predict change in socio-emotional functioning in high school, but they were associated with more positive experiences of high school. The study suggests that high school expectations may play an important role in high school experiences, and thus serve as a valid target for programs aimed at easing the high school transition.

Steinfeld, Edward (2005).  Education for All: The Cost of Accessibility. Education Notes  [World Bank, Education Advisory Service] 

This note series is intended to summarize lessons learned and key policy findings on the World Bank's work in education. The goal of Education for All (EFA) is to provide universal access to primary education throughout the world. To accomplish this goal, as many as 10 million classrooms will be built in developing countries by 2015. A key objective of the program is to ensure that no child is denied access to education because of disability. Cost is not a significant barrier to accessible design although it is often perceived to be one. Research has shown that the cost of accessibility is generally less than 1% of total construction costs. Estimates of costs developed by those with limited knowledge of accessible design often overstate the actual cost and ignore savings. Sometimes, the belief that accessibility costs more is founded in experience with projects where accessibility was introduced too late in the process or through experience with poorly designed, constructed or managed projects. To ensure that costs are controlled, it is critical to introduce accessibility in the early stages of project design. It is helpful to educate designers, builders and citizens about the purpose and benefits of accessibility to the whole community so that they understand the value of accessibility and work to find good solutions to difficult problems. Technical assistance should be made available to ensure that accessibility will be effectively implemented, especially when departures from standard accessible design are necessary in the course of a project. [This document was produced by the World Bank, Education Advisory Service.]

Stella, Antony (2006).  Quality Assurance of Cross-Border Higher Education  Quality in Higher Education, 12, 3. 

Cross-border higher education raises a number of challenges and there is a growing awareness among quality assurance agencies that they have to work together to address these challenges. The joint effort of UNESCO-OECD to develop "Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border Higher Education" is an educational response to this need. This paper presents the background and outcome of discussions of the quality assurance agencies with specific reference to these "Guidelines," during the workshop held at The Hague in May 2006. Section 1 presents the background to the theme. Capacity building emerges as a major challenge to be addressed. Section 2 explains how UNESCO-OECD joint effort is an educational response to this challenge. Section 3 argues that the "Guidelines" are helpful to address the concerns of different perspectives but also raises six specific questions that need attention. Section 4 summarises what emerged during the parallel group discussions on those six questions. Finally, section 5 draws the emerging pattern from the discussions and attempts to identify future directions for the networks such as INQAAHE and its member agencies.

Stepanova, Tat'iana (2004).  Modernization of the Rural School: The Accessiblitity and Quality of Education  Russian Education & Society, 46, 12. 

Iaroslavl Oblast is a pilot region on problems of the modernization of education. It was entirely logical that the oblast was given this status: modernization was something that administrators on different levels viewed not formally but substantively. A number of aspects were developed to improve the sector, such as normative financing of schools, new approaches to upgrading cadre qualifications, the creation of state and civic administration of education, and planning of the education space. All of these factors have an effect on the development of the society, including rural life, and serve to enhance the prestige of education. This year Iaroslavl was selected to be the venue for a zonal conference on the results of the work of the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation, and it was the site of the National Conference on Problems of the Rural School. This article explores the mechanisms of modernization and the various administrative structures, methodology services, and educational institutions taking part in it.

Stephen, Lynn (2008).  Building Alliances: Defending Immigrant Rights in Rural Oregon  Journal of Rural Studies, 24, 2. 

Political participation in the rural United States has often been narrowly defined within the confines of electoral politics. Increasingly, participants in rural US social movements have highlighted the shortcomings of democracy defined purely in terms of electoral politics in favour of a more participatory model of politics that focuses on the social and cultural rights of those who are often formally or informally excluded from the liberal definition of citizenship. This article highlights the process of claiming rights as cultural citizens in a political context where there are efforts through the formal political system-usually in the form of ballot referendums at the state or local level-to further limit the rights of specific constituencies such as gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals or immigrants. A second focus of this article is on the dynamics of solidarity and alliance building between different kinds of social movements acting in concert to push for cultural rights and then formal rights for each other's constituencies. The article specifically seeks to illustrate how two organizations that share quite different constituencies and agendas can effectively collaborate in regional and state-wide campaigns in the rural state of Oregon, while also honestly discussing their differences and difficulties in working together.

Stephens, E. Robert; Collins, Tim; Stern, Joyce; Sanders, John R. (2001).  Milestones in Rural Education, 1950-2000. A SERVE Special Report. 

This analysis is organized by decades, 1950s-1990s. In each decade, a context is presented for summarizing general information on broad education events that also affected rural areas and schools. Next, policies are outlined that were directed at or had a significant impact on rural education at the federal and then the state level. State-level policies with national significance are included. Research that specifically focused on rural education is also described. Finally, other critical developments that significantly affected rural education in that decade are listed. Each milestone is followed by a brief statement of rationale for inclusion. Those interested in rural schools have much to celebrate when they review the milestones of the past 50 years, including the virtual demise of mandated school district reorganization; the development of many state policy strategies to address issues of funding adequacy and equity, as well as quality educational programs; the growing body of additive, policy-relevant research; the increasing professionalization of rural policymakers, educators, and researchers; the growth of rural special interest groups at the national and state levels; the resurgence of local citizens seeking to play an active role in their schools; and the slow, inexorable establishment of precedence favorable to rural schools in federal laws and policy. The continuing struggle of rural residents to provide a quality education for their children, despite obstacles, has helped make these milestones possible. | [FULL TEXT]

Stewart, Ralsa Marshall, Jr.; Moore, Gary E.; Flowers, Jim (2004).  Emerging Educational and Agricultural Trends and their Impact on the Secondary Agricultural Education Program  Journal of Vocational Education Research, 29, 1. 

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the emerging trends in education and agriculture and to determine their implications on the secondary agricultural education program. For this study, the researchers did a national solicitation for nominations with 1,160 national agricultural education leaders, state agricultural education leaders, university agricultural educators and agriculture teachers. Fifty education experts and 50 agricultural experts were identified and invited to participate in the study. Three rounds of a Delphi survey were used to identify the emerging trends. This study identified 12 emerging educational issues and 6 emerging agricultural issues. Educational issues included: Finance and Budget, Teacher Recruitment, Teacher Education, Curriculum, Educational Leadership, Teacher Recognition and Reward, Teaching and Instructional Strategies, Standards, Legislation and Policy, Professional Development, Teacher Attitude, and State Leadership. Agricultural Issues included: Environmental Influences on Agriculture, Technology and Innovation in Agriculture, Food Supply and Safety in Agriculture, Trade Issues in Agriculture, Youth in Agriculture, and Urban Sprawl/Impact on Agriculture. It was concluded that many of the educational issues have not changed dramatically over the years. Agricultural issues seemed to have broadened from a production focus to issues that deal with agriculture's relationship to society.

St. George, Ian M. (2006).  Professional Isolation and Performance Assessment in New Zealand  Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 26, 3. 

Introduction: Solo and nonurban practice, nonmembership of a professional group, and aging are all associated with underperformance and may be indicators of professional isolation. Although it may lead to underperformance in physicians, there are no clear measures to assess professional isolation. Methods: By mailed questionnaire, experienced performance assessors were asked to list markers of professional isolation. Results: A set of criteria and descriptors for professional isolation was generated, and included personality; solo practice; poor colleague relationships; outlier practice; MOPS or CPD failure; specialist in only private practice; stress, no relief, complaints, job dissatisfaction; locum, itinerant or part-time practice; cultural barriers; male gender. Discussion:The identification of physicians at risk for professional isolation may enable the prevention of poor performance.

St. John, Mark; Carroll, Becky; Tambe, Pamela; Broun, Samantha (2000).  The Story of the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative. 

In 1995, the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) was awarded a 5-year grant to improve performance in mathematics and science in a 66-county area in central Appalachia through high-quality, standards-based teaching supported by aligned, coherent local and regional systems. The ARSI model has three levels. The first level entails local reform and leadership development, involving local schools, districts, and communities. The second level consists of ARSI services and supports, which involve learning support services provided to districts by resource collaboratives located at five universities in Appalachia. The third level is the ARSI administration and planning level. ARSI contributions have been mainly in two areas. The first has been in building local district capacity for ongoing improvements by developing local leaders and a shared vision, aligning resources, creating a reform infrastructure, examining district policies, and developing resource collaboratives. The second area involves the quality of classroom instruction. Since ARSI has been aimed primarily at the professional development of lead teachers and district leadership, it seems reasonable that its influence would trickle down slowly into many classrooms. However, visible examples of good teaching are emerging. Of 54 classroom lessons observed, 40 percent were rated at the beginning stages of effective instruction and 11 percent displayed exemplary instruction. Yearly themes in the chronology of the project's 5 years are: laying the groundwork, establishing key resources in the region and districts, the changing vision of the role of technology, emergence of program improvement reviews as key strategy, and development of district-wide leadership teams. Challenges and suggestions for the future include sustaining the progress already made, developing community understanding and support, working within state contexts, and strengthening curriculum. | [FULL TEXT]

Stockdale, Aileen (2006).  Migration: Pre-Requisite for Rural Economic Regeneration?  Journal of Rural Studies, 22, 3. 

Migration from and to depopulating areas is related to the prospects for rural economic regeneration. The focus is on whether or not migration processes give rise to the necessary human capital required for successful endogenous development. Data from Scottish case studies pertaining to in-, out- and return migrants are analysed. Only by leaving rural areas can young adults acquire the necessary skills to participate in endogenous development, however, few out-migrants subsequently return. In-migrants, while often possessing the necessary human capital to bring about an economic regeneration, are associated with relatively little new job creation. Instead in-migration is characterised by self-employment. It is argued that migration is a pre-requisite for rural economic regeneration, but that a rural endogenous development policy on its own will have limited success in regenerating areas experiencing on-going depopulation. Exogenous development strategies are also required.

Stokes, Helen; Stacey, Kathleen; Lake, Murray (2006).  Schools, Vocational Education and Training, and Partnerships: Capacity-Building in Rural and Regional Communities--Literature Review. Support Document  [National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)] 

This document was produced by the author(s) based on their research for the report "Schools, Vocational Education and Training, and Partnerships: Capacity-Building in Rural and Regional Communities," (ED495181) and is an added resource for further information. The contents of this support document include: (1) Introduction; (2) Capacity Building and "Capital"; (3) School-VET Partnerships in Rural and Regional Communities; (4) National and State Policies for VET and Rural Education; (5) Summary; and (6) References. [This document was produced with funding provided by the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training.] | [FULL TEXT]

Stortz, Paul; Panayotidis, E. Lisa (2004).  One-Room Schools: Myth and Reality  Education Canada, 44, 4. 

This article discusses the myth and reality of the ubiquitous one-room school in Canada. A marker of civilization, it bespoke a desire to spread the merits of education to the rugged laborers and their families in even the most remote areas of rural Canada. This historical vestige, particularly in the early-to-mid 20th century, painted a promising and reminiscent picture of a country where not even the most sequestered area was beyond the reach of sound British values. As education was a prime institution for acculturating individuals to the principles of Canadian nationalism, an effective form of social organization came into the wild that was embodied in the very structure of the one-room school. Throughout the 20th century, the one-room school was a proud and powerful national image, representing the north and the qualities of virtue associated with it. As part of the "wild" in Canadian identity, rural society in theory and practice was a rudimentary and intimate form of social organization. As a result, the one-room school remains an integral vestige of the Canadian heritage.

Strand, Joyce A.; Peacock, Thomas D. (2002).  Nurturing Resilience and School Success in American Indian and Alaska Native Students. ERIC Digest. 

This digest examines recent literature on factors related to resilience, well-being, and school success for American Indian and Alaska Native students. The characteristics of resilient Native youth are discussed, including the ability to bounce back from adversity, and protective factors that enable high-risk resilient children to avoid negative outcomes. Traditional Native ways of fostering resilience focused on developmental areas related to spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed connections within family, community, and school that foster resilience. Although there are tribal differences in traditional Native ways, this digest focuses on some commonalities that exist in shared core values, beliefs, and behaviors. The findings of one recent study are highlighted, revealing what Native youth believe parents, teachers, and schools can do to foster resilience. Additional studies that make connections between resilience and Native spirituality and biculturalism are briefly reviewed. | [FULL TEXT]

Strang, William; von Glatz, Adrienne; Hammer, Patricia Cahape (2002).  Setting the Agenda: American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Priorities. ERIC Digest. 

This digest briefly reviews the events that led to the development of the American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda, the basic assumptions and premises underlying it, and its six priority research areas. In response to pressure from Native organizations and tribes and a subsequent Executive Order, a working group organized by the U.S. Department of Education developed a research agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native education. Formulated with substantial input from Native educators and researchers, the agenda focuses on identifying best practices. Studies must be conducted from a perspective that respects Native languages and cultures, and researchers must produce findings useful to local communities while being cognizant of tribal differences. Definitional issues concerning who is Native need to be resolved. Six general categories of priority research topics were identified: educational outcomes of Native students; the role of Native language and culture in education; teachers, schools, and educational resources; special education and Native students; early childhood education needs of Native children; and education standards and assessments and how they relate to schools with large enrollments of Native students. | [FULL TEXT]

Stretesky, Paul B.; Johnston, Janis E.; Arney, Jeremy (2003).  Environmental Inequity: An Analysis of Large-Scale Hog Operations in 17 States, 1982-1997  Rural Sociology, 68, 2. 

Strike, Kenneth A. (2008).  Small Schools: Size or Community?  American Journal of Education, 114, 3. 

Small schools are not just about size. They are also about authentic instruction, portfolio evaluation, and a thematic curriculum. Their agendas overlap with that of charter schools. They have an uncomfortable and sometimes adversarial relationship with standards, accountability, and the No Child Left Behind Act. They have migrated from their beginnings in Barker and Gump's (1964) work on rural schools to become a significant factor in urban school reform. They face two major hurdles. The first is scaling up. Small reform movements can survive on exemptions from prevailing policy. Large reform movements need institutional change. The second is that as an enterprise becomes popular it runs the risks of co-option and confusion. I argue that small school advocates need to work hard to maintain clarity about what is central to the movement. And I suggest that what should be central is an emphasis on creating community, not school size per se.

Stritikus, Tom T.; Wiese, Ann-Marie (2006).  Reassessing the Role of Ethnographic Methods in Education Policy Research: Implementing Bilingual Education Policy at Local Levels  Teachers College Record, 108, 6. 

Stromquist, Nelly P. (2006).  Gender, Education and The Possibility of Transformative Knowledge  Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, 36, 2. 

Strong-Wilson, Teresa (2008).  Turtles All the Way: Simulacra and Resistance to Simulacra in Indigenous Teachers' Discussion of Indigenous Children's Literature  Children's Literature in Education, 39, 1. 

Suarez, David (2007).  Education Professionals and the Construction of Human Rights Education  Comparative Education Review, 51, 1. 

This article builds on previous comparative education research by analyzing the current discourse surrounding this emerging education model--human rights education. The first section provides a brief history of human rights education in formal education. The second section reviews research on international reforms, emphasizing analyses of processes in global diffusion and variation at national or local levels. Closely related, the third section discusses linkages and relational and associational processes that spread ideas and construct new models such as human rights education. The fourth section focuses on the current state of human rights education, exploring the creation of an epistemic community of human rights educators and the theorization of human rights education within the community. Specifically, the section analyzes discussions among members of the epistemic community about why to teach human rights education, how to teach human rights education, and how to assess the reform.

Subrahmanian, R. (2005).  Gender Equality in Education: Definitions and Measurements  International Journal of Educational Development, 25, 4. 

International consensus on education priorities accords an important place to achieving gender justice in the educational sphere. Both the Dakar 'Education for All' goals and the Millennium Development goals emphasise two goals, in this regard. These two goals are distinguished as gender parity goals [achieving equal participation of girls and boys in all forms of education based on their proportion in the relevant age-groups in the population] and gender equality goals [ensuring educational equality between boys and girls]. In turn these have been characterised as quantitative/numerical and qualitative goals respectively. In order to consider progress towards both types of goal, both quantitative and qualitative assessments need to be made of the nature of progress towards gender equality. Achieving gender parity is just one step towards gender equality in and through education. An education system with equal numbers of boys and girls participating, who may progress evenly through the system, may not in fact be based on gender equality. Following Wilson (Human Rights: Promoting gender equality in and through education. Background paper for EFA GMR 2003/4, 2003) a consideration of gender equality in education therefore needs to be understood as the right to education [access and participation], as well as rights within education [gender-aware educational environments, processes, and outcomes], and rights through education [meaningful education outcomes that link education equality with wider processes of gender justice].

Subramony, Deepak Prem (2007).  Understanding the Complex Dimensions of the Digital Divide: Lessons Learned in the Alaskan Arctic  Journal of Negro Education, 76, 1. 

An ethnographic case study of Inupiat Eskimo in the Alaskan Arctic has provided insights into the complex nature of the sociological issues surrounding equitable access to technology tools and skills, which are referred to as the digital divide. These people can overcome the digital divide if they get the basic ready access to hardware and software and also by developing skill levels in crucial technologies among students.

Sullivan, Terri N.; Kung, Eva M.; Farrell, Albert D. (2004).  Relation Between Witnessing Violence and Drug Use Initiation Among Rural Adolescents: Parental Monitoring and Family Support as Protective Factors  Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 3. 

This study examined the relation between witnessing violence and drug use initiation among 6th graders attending middle schools in 5 rural counties and investigated the extent to which family support and parental monitoring moderated this relation. Data were obtained from 1,282 adolescents at 2 time points during the 6th grade. Witnessing violence predicted subsequent initiation of cigarette, beer and wine, liquor, and advanced alcohol use. Adolescents who reported high levels of family support and parental monitoring were less likely to initiate use across all drug categories except beer and wine. High levels of parental monitoring and family support were effective in buffering the relation between witnessing violence and initiation of cigarette and advanced alcohol use at low levels of witnessing violence. With increasing levels of witnessing violence, however, the protective effects of monitoring and support were substantially diminished. These findings have important implications for research and intervention efforts.

Sulzbacher, Stephen; Mas, Jennifer; Larson, Eric H.; Shurtleff, David B. (2004).  Pediatric Tele-Health Consultation to Rural Schools and Clinics in the Pacific Northwest  Journal of Special Education Technology, 19, 1. 

The primary telehealth technology described in these articles is interactive video teleconferencing (IVTC), which allows parties at both ends of the communication to see and hear each other. The author have used this application during the past decade for consultation with rural practitioners and schools, and it has become a primary focus of our work in Washington State. The purpose of this report was not to contrast on-site versus IVTC consultation, but rather to show how these modalities can complement each other in improving special education services in rural districts. The increase in referrals for behavior disorders and in consultation questions about autistic spectrum diagnoses are reflective of nationwide trends for these disorders. An analysis of referral patterns for both IVTC and on-site consultations showed that providers tended to use onsite consultation for strictly medical problems (e.g., neuromuscular, sports injury, infectious diseases, dermatology, endocrine, cardiology), although follow-up visits for such conditions were often conducted via IVTC. In the consultations studied, IVTC was used predominantly for patients with psychiatric diagnoses or mixed medical and psychiatric diagnoses.

Sun, Xinying; Guo, Yan; Wang, Sisun; Sun, Jing (2007).  Social Marketing Improved the Consumption of Iron-Fortified Soy Sauce among Women in China  Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 39, 6. 

Objective: To test the feasibility and effectiveness of social marketing on the improvement of women's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding iron-fortified soy sauce (FeSS). Design: A community-based intervention was conducted among 4 groups, experimental rural (E[subscript R]), control rural (C[subscript R]), experimental urban (E[subscript U]), and control urban (C[U]). Setting: Urban and rural areas in Guizhou province, China. Participants: Women 19 to 70 years old (n = 193 in rural areas and n = 179 in urban areas). Intervention: A mass-media campaign to promote use of FeSS was conducted throughout Guizhou province. In the intervention areas, social marketing strategies using integrated 6 Ps (product, price, place, promotion, policy, and partnership) were implemented from December 2004 to February 2006. Main Outcome Measures: Knowledge of FeSS; benefits, barriers, and intention to purchase; availability of FeSS; behaviors regarding purchase and use of FeSS. Analysis: Analysis of covariance, paired T test and cross-tabulations were used. The [alpha] level was set at 0.05. Results: Compared with the baseline, perceived benefits of FeSS, barriers (BARRI) and intention to buy (INTEN) significantly improved within both experimental groups (P less than 0.01 or 0.001). The only improvement in control groups was for BARRI in CR (P less than 0.001). Availability of FeSS increased in all areas. Purchase and use of FeSS in rural and urban intervention groups increased by nearly 30% more than those in control groups. Conclusion and Implication: Social marketing of FeSS is feasible and effective to improve knowledge, perception (perceived benefits and overcoming barriers), intention to purchase, and consumption of FeSS among women in Guizhou, China.

Domestic violence and sexual assault know no boundaries. According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, in 2003, more than 39,300 rural residents sought assistance or 11.6 clients for every 1,000 rural residents. In urban areas, nearly 94,400 persons sought assistance, or 10.6 clients for every 1,000 urban residences. Statewide, this assistance was provided by 81 local domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) victim service agencies. These agencies assist clients with counseling, medical and legal accompaniment/advocacy, referrals to other agencies, and additional services. To provide these services, the agencies receive both federal and state funding, along with donations from county government, community groups, businesses and individuals. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania was interested in learning more about the unique challenges and opportunities facing rural DV and SA agencies, and in comparing rural agencies with urban agencies. To accomplish this, the Center surveyed the directors of the state's domestic violence and sexual assault service agencies. The survey response rate was 43 percent. According to the survey results, rural agencies face financial, staffing, and community awareness challenges. The results also indicated that rural and urban directors differ in their opinions on how SA and DV cases are handled by the police, medical professionals, and courts. | [FULL TEXT]

Sutton, Joe P.; Nowacek, E. Jane; Capone, Angela M.; Hausman, Ralph M.; Stoiber, Karen C.; Tindal, Gerald A. (2003).  Assessment of Students from Geographically Diverse Rural Areas: Emerging Research from Four Federally Funded Projects  Assessment for Effective Intervention, 29, 1. 

Rural learners represent a diverse and significant part of the student population. Although research shows that the overall percentage and types of students with disabilities are similar in rural and non-rural school districts, greater proportions of rural students live in poverty, which places them at higher risk for disability. This article presents emerging research from four projects funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs that center on assessment and intervention practices for students in geographically diverse rural areas, including child find and developmental screening in Vermont, preparation of rural educational diagnosticians in Texas, teacher self-ratings of assessment-intervention in Wisconsin, and the use of concept-based instruction in the Pacific Northwest.

Suvorova, Galina (2004).  How to Avoid the Negative Consequences of Restructuring the Network of Rural Schools  Russian Education & Society, 46, 12. 

Because of the destruction of the agricultural sector of Russia's economy, there is no demand for workers in the countryside, and, as a consequence, the able-bodied population is leaving the countryside and the birth rate has gone down drastically. These factors have resulted in the liquidation of kindergartens and small-enrollment schools and a decline in the number of institutions of education and upbringing in the countryside. On the whole, the current state of rural schools demands immediate intervention and assistance, from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and regional administrators down to raion and village-level administrators. In this article, the author presents several recommendations in addressing this problem. These recommendations include: (1) Creation of boarding facilities attached to secondary schools in areas that have tiny and sparse populations and inadequate road network; (2) Creation of intercommunity primary and incomplete secondary schools that can make use of a comfortable transportation system that runs on a small radial loop route in sparsely populated areas; and (3) Creation of secondary or an incomplete secondary schools for areas with classical, medium-sized pattern of population settlement and with satisfactory roads. A proposed model of a rural school that comprises an incomplete secondary school, a basic school with an additional department in which groups are put together of children of different ages is also described in this article.

Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase; Sorensen, Jens Fyhn Lykke (2007).  There's More to the Picture than Meets the Eye: Measuring Tangible and Intangible Capital in Two Marginal Communities in Rural Denmark  Journal of Rural Studies, 23, 4. 

A missing link in economics has been what Veblen in 1908 termed intangible capital. This includes common norms, trust and high levels of cooperative performance. Intangibles are invisible to the eye and not easily measured in quantitative terms. They nevertheless involve visible, socioeconomic outcomes and should therefore rightly be seen as productive, like tangibles. Thus, uneven levels of intangible capital would explain Differential Economic Performance (DEP) between, say, two firms containing exactly the same stock of physical, economic and human capital. Despite this common sense observation, most economists have failed to see that "there's more to the picture than meets the eye", as Neil Young once sang. We use statistical, historical and fieldwork data from two Danish, marginal rural communities both rich on intangible capital. This to show how intangible capital in the form of social, organisational and cultural capital is accumulated and utilised in situ, at the microlevel. We suggest that the difference between these two, very similar communities should be explained in their varying ability to utilise local stocks of tangible and intangible capital. Drawing on seminal ideas from Bourdieu [The forms of capital. In: Richardson, J.G. (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Greenwood Press, New York, Westport, CT and London, 1986, pp. 241-58] and the DORA project [Bryden, Differential economic performance in rural areas. In: International Conference on Rural Communities and Identities in the Global Millennium. Malpasino University College, Nainamo, BC, Canada, 2000], we want to develop a "total capital" assessment tool for mapping and measuring socioeconomic development in marginal rural communities. In this way, we hope to count in "all" capital as Schultz [Investment in human capital. In: Kiker, B.F. (Ed.) Investment in Human Capital. Columbia, 1971, pp. 3-21] prophesised. This in order to explain what we term Differential Local Development (DLD), where "good", sustainable development is associated with high economic performance and increase in population.

Sweeney, Thomas W.; Toledo, Alejandro (2003).  Peru's Gentle Revolutionary.  National Museum of the American Indian, 4, 2. 

Alejandro Toledo, the first Native person to be elected president of Peru, talks about his Quechua roots; his proposed constitutional amendment to ensure equal rights for indigenous peoples; financial support for Native cultural preservation efforts; and his number one priority--to fight poverty through education, focusing on basic education, women's education, rural education, and bilingual education at all levels.

Swidler, Stephen A. (2005).  Conversation and Control: Emergent Progressive Pedagogy in the Last of Nebraska's One-Teacher Schools  Journal of Research in Rural Education, 20, 4. 

This article describes the teaching practices at Upper Rill School, a 1-teacher school in rural Nebraska. With its 8 students, grades 1 through 8, the teacher considers the school?s size and continuity of student enrollment flexible and generative. Subject matter and grade levels are regularly integrated though common curricula. Instruction is carried out in conversations with individual students and in same- and mixed-grade groups. The pedagogy at Upper Rill has emergent qualities of progressive instruction, reflecting the ambitious teaching reformers call for. Small-scale schooling arguably enables a teacher to enact this kind of pedagogy.

Swift-Morgan, Jennifer (2006).  What Community Participation in Schooling Means: Insights from Southern Ethiopia  Harvard Educational Review, 76, 3. 

Community participation is a term frequently used and often cited in international educational development. In this article, Jennifer Swift-Morgan investigates the definition and impact of community participation in schooling in rural Ethiopia. Although national governments, development agencies, and nongovernmental organizations across the developing world increasingly encourage community participation, our understanding of this term remains vague due to a lack of detailed analysis. Swift-Morgan's qualitative study examines the form and scope of community participation. She finds that in rural Ethiopia, this range is complex, but a large portion of what is characterized as community participation is monetary contributions rather than involvement in decision making or teaching and learning. Swift-Morgan also shows that there are particular challenges for the participation of women and the poor, and that financial incentives and technical assistance that encourage broad-based decision making create incentives for broader community participation. Swift-Morgan concludes the article with policy implications, particularly with respect to how programs that attempt to encourage community participation can be made more effective.

Sze, Susan (2004).  Barriers to School Success for Students with Disabilities in Rural Communities  [Online Submission] 

The purpose of this paper is to review professional literature to identify barriers for school success for students with disabilities in rural communities and to provide ways to breakthrough these barriers. The author suggests a new, powerful and practical way to make rural education a leader in the nation: Get ahead, Get technology! Table 1 summarizes creative ways to turn barriers to opportunities. [This paper was partially funded by Niagara University, College of Education.] | [FULL TEXT]

Sze, Susan (2005).  An Analysis of Constructivism and the Ancient Art of Origami  [Online Submission] 

This paper provides a framework for thinking about origami construction and constructivism. In an attempt to understand the conceptual and theoretical framework supporting the field of inclusive teaching strategies in relationship to origami, I have prepared a model for origami which represents six types of constructive learning: (1) Hands-on learning, (2) explicit instruction, (3) higher order thinking, (4) multimodal instruction, (5) social learning, and (6) self-management strategies.  | [FULL TEXT]

Sze, Susan (2005).  Effects of Origami Construction on Children with Disabilities  [Online Submission] 

The purpose of this paper is to explain how origami can be used to foster life and academic skills in struggling students in rural schools. At-risk students often lack the social, behavioral, study, self-management, academic and life skills to face their daily challenges. This paper describes: (1) benefits of origami and its integration into various aspects of special education services, (2) operational definitions of origami, diversity and disabilities, (3) how origami is instructed, (4) consideration for origami and types of disabilities, and (5) cultural and linguistic impact in rural schools. A graphic instruction on how to paper fold a drinking cup is also provided.  | [FULL TEXT]

Szente, Judit; Hoot, James (2004).  A Cyber Ray Hope for Ethiopian Children  Childhood Education, 80, 6. 

Major obstacles threaten the future of Ethiopia. Global publicity regarding the drought of 1986 has left the world with images of starving and orphaned Ethiopian children. Such conditions do still exist in parts of this nation, in which 45 percent of the population falls below the national poverty line (The World Factbook, 2003). In a nation of such expansive poverty, educational aspirations for those who could change the future, the children, are often subservient to concerns for basic survival. Even when children are fortunate enough to attend school at all, the quality of the schools vastly differs (Hoot, Szente, & Mebratu, in press), and the drop-out rate--especially for females--is very high (United States Agency for International Development [USAID], 2002). In rural areas, where the majority of the population lives, school attendance is further complicated by the view that marriage at a very young age is necessary for many families' economic survival. Girls as young as 5 may be promised to generally older males, with whom they live following a pre-marriage celebration. Such traditions may lead to girls who are only 9-12 years old becoming pregnant. Severe complications for both the physically immature mothers and the likely premature infants result in even greater entrenchment of the poverty cycle. These, as well as other challenges (such as the AIDS pandemic), promise to lower the current life expectancy of 41 years even more in the near future. This article describes the efforts of a USAID project being implemented in two primary schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the initial years of the project, efforts focused on creating exemplary early childhood programs as well as long-term educational collaborations through the use of educational technology. By introducing computer training at an early age, students will be able to contribute to the economic capital of the country, thus eventually increasing the economic well-being of the entire nation.