High-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is an important component of thriving communities. It is central to the socio-emotional and intellectual growth of young children, to the ability of parents to go to work, and to the ability of employers to find and retain workers. Despite this centrality, there is a profound shortage of ECEC…

Climate change education in the southeastern United States can be challenging. Due to economic factors, as well as the conservative political and faith perspectives typical of the region, high proportions (40%) of the population are not engaged, not convinced, or doubt Earth's climate is changing or that climate change has anthropogenic causes.…

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…

Across the country, cities and regions have used community-wide partnerships to improve the educational attainment of their citizens. The most established of these partnerships have seen substantial education gains during their tenure. The community of Louisville, Kentucky has embarked on a similar effort to improve educational attainment. Nearly…

This project was conceived as a technique for helping to eliminate a cultural void in the areas of art, music, and theatre in the service area of Western Kentucky University. To implement this concept, demonstrations were conducted in art, music, theatre, and in library and lecture resources in 16 counties over a four-year period. The attendance…

Looks at Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) programs uniting 23 church denominations behind social and volunteer projects designed to improve quality of rural life. Describes CORA and its projects. (TES)

This bulletin highlights the comprehensive community action program developed in Fayette County, Kentucky, to lower vandalism. The program was begun several years ago and involves participation by local businesses, clubs, schools, and the police department. School assemblies, a student workbook, slides, films, contests, and a public media campaign…

Appalachia has a history of isolation, poverty, substandard education and services, and economic exploitation by outside forces, but also has a long history of resistance and community organizing. This paper describes three rural Appalachian community organizations whose mission is the strengthening and empowering of communities as well as…

Kentucky's SOS (Sharing Our Selves) Learning Networks are community-owned, volunteer-run, informal learning/development programs incorporating community needs and the skills/knowledge/experience of individuals regardless of academic credentials. The Cooperative Extension Service administers the programs. Interested community members list subjects…

As increased attention is placed on the role of schools in the development of character, community service/service learning, the concept of providing instrution through the study of community issues, action to address them, and reflection on the experience, can help meet school and community goals. Through community service/service learning,…

This report describes a summer training institute designed to develop research skills among 30 selected local school district representatives from Kentucky and Appalachia to enable them to serve as research coordinators in their districts. The purpose of the institute was to increase the capability of local school districts to improve their school…

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY INITIATED A PROJECT TO DETERMINE THE CULTURAL NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF THE AREA IT SERVES. IN PHASE ONE, CITY AND COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES ATTENDED A SYMPOSIUM ON ART, MUSIC, LIBRARY, LECTURE, AND THEATER RESOURCES AND FORMED A REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT. PHASE TWO WAS A WORKSHOP TO HELP COUNCIL…

The 1989 census data for the state of Kentucky reveals that African American children are more than twice as likely to be poor as White children, three times more likely to grow up in a single parent family than White children, and twice as likely as White children to live in a home that is rented as opposed to owned. The data also show that the…

Interviews conducted in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District sought answers for improving educational quality in the district, which has the highest dropout rate, the lowest holding power, and the lowest standardized test scores in Kentucky. Members of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development interviewed 155 people from 15 of…