1st Edition

Rural Education In Urbanized Nations Issues And Innovations

By Jonathan P Sher Copyright 1981
    346 Pages
    by Routledge

    368 Pages
    by Routledge

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

    Preface -- The Reemergence of Rural Education -- Education in the Countryside: Establishing the Context -- Education in the Countryside: Overview of Conditions and Some Conclusions -- Rural Education Innovations -- Introduction -- Delivery and Support System Innovations -- Schooling with Television in Rural Areas: Portugal's Telescola -- Beyond Mere Survival: Teacher Support in Scotland's Rural Schools -- Putting the Outback into the Forefront: Education Innovations in Western Australia -- The Educational Challenge in Rural Alaska: Era of Local Control -- The New Zealand Correspondence School: A Pragmatic System for the Basic Schooling of Isolated Children -- In-School Innovations -- Sea Change in the Western Isles of Scotland: The Rise of Locally Relevant Bilingual Education -- Finland's Small Schools and Combined Grades: An Overview with Special Reference to the Kuusamo District -- Foxfire: Experiential Education in Rural America -- Locally Relevant Curricula in Rural Norway: The Lofoten Islands Example -- Reform and Resistance: Rural School Improvement Projects in the United States

    Biography

    Jonathan P. Sher