Intended to spur policy makers, practitioners, parents, and other interested individuals to reopen rural educational issues, this volume explores "conventional wisdom" (the widely accepted assumptions and theories about rural education) and examines its merits in light of both accumulated experience and recent research. The text is divided into 4 parts and includes the following 8 papers: "The Urbanization of Rural Schools, 1840-1970" (divided into 5 phases: 1840-70, 1870-95, 1896-1920, 1920-44, and 1944-70); "Economy, Efficiency, and Equality: The Myths of Rural School and District Consolidation" (explores why it happened and the implications for educational policy); "Choosing Smallness: An Examination of the Small School Experience in Rural America" (consolidators vs conservators, the nature of the traditional small school, new models for rural education, etc.); "Coping with Sparsity: A Review of Rural School Finance" (history, equity, local control, current reforms, etc.); "Class Conflict in Rural Education: A Case Study of Preston County, West Virginia" (history, analysis of the school board's comprehensive facilities plan, and the community school plan and the fourth bond issue); "Centralization vs Decentralization: A Case Study of Rural Education in Vermont"; "What's Next? A Research and Action Agenda for Rural Education" (lessons and guidelines, structural reforms, and substantive reforms); "School-Based Community Development Corporations: A New Strategy for Education and Development in Rural America". (JC)
|
