The 1980s found the U.S. economy vulnerable in the global marketplace. Many observers have argued that workforce education and skill levels are too low, particularly in rural areas. In this book, four studies examine the education crisis, the relationship between the education shortfall and rural economic stagnation, the importance of local…

This document is the executive summary for a two volume report on technological innovation and southern rural industrial development. The first volume examines public and private factors that influence investment decisions in new technologies and the outcomes of those decisions; effects of automation on employment and the workplace; outcomes of…

This ERIC digest examines states' goals of rural literacy programs and the types of programs that have proven effective in the past. It includes several definitions of literacy applied by effective rural literacy programs. It also examines the conditions that support or limit widespread influence of effective programs in rural areas. The level of…

Many rural communities share these complaints: (1) an exodus of the best and brightest young people; (2) a changing and ambivalent self-concept about the identity and the future of the community; and (3) a scarcity of good jobs to act as the mortar that bonds the other elements together. The South Dakota Rural Schools and Community Development…

Knowledge of major economic forces shaping the future of rural America provides insights about the likely importance and effectiveness of various broad program alternatives as components of a rural development policy. The rural economic base was transformed during the 1960s and 1970s from a primary dependence on natural resource activities,…

A study of the process of a 1977-1983 oil and gas boom in Caldwell, Texas, disproved the assumption that local social effects of rapid energy development are severe and negative. Using interviews, surveys, observation, local newspapers, and other writings as data sources, researchers determined that during the boom, Caldwell's population grew…

Formal education has traditionally played the conservative role of transmitting values, culture, skills, and knowledge from one generation to the next. Its role has become dysfunctional in societies such as those in Asia and the Pacific that are characterized by rapid change. In societies such as these, the need now is for education for…

Concerned with the application of science and technology to agriculture, this book is intended to be used as a reference for rural education groups and as a guide for teachers in an attempt to formulate a new approach to teaching rural economics by integrating it into the overall analysis of social and economic development. The book is divided…

The trend reversing the massive nonmetropolitan-to-metropolitan migration of the past several decades is documented in this volume which is divided into three parts. Part I provides insights into several aspects of the new migration trend in the North Central Region of the U.S. The primary emphasis is on metropolitan origin migrants. Survey…

More than 6,600 separate tracts of land, purchased by the citizens of Tennessee and North Carolina and given to the people of the United States in 1934, comprise the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The history of the Great Smokies is, therefore, a story of people and their home. This volume presents historical vignettes of the groups who…

Five areas in the Maritime Provinces of Canada were subjected to intensive geographical, economic, and sociological surveys in an attempt to determine and define poverty illustratively rather than statistically. Information was obtained by in-residence researchers on bio-physical setting, settlement, population, labor and economic activity,…

In the 1971 yearbook, the authors examine how rural America, agriculture, and the rest of the nation can deal with a big increase in the U.S. population. Rural-area needs discussed in the document include a big increase in housing, better community facilities of all kinds, more industry and jobs, better planning and zoning, and improved education…

Small-scale industry in Sierra Leone, Africa was examined in terms of: labor intensity; output generated per unit of capital; generation of positive economic profits by small-scale industry groups/processes; and seasonal and locational variations. Key analytical issues were the nature of small-scale industry supply and demand processes. Data were…

Rural community colleges are faced with issues similar to their urban counterparts, but many challenges for rural schools are further exacerbated by limited resources, geographic isolation, and a static economy. This paper argues that the difference between success and failure can be the ability to create strong partnerships. Of the 15 colleges in…

Madisonville Community College (MCC) is in Madisonville, Kentucky, a small town with a strong coal industry presence. Mine closings and layoffs in the 1980s prompted the region to reorient itself toward light industry and manufacturing, but the recession of the early 1990s and globalization led to closings of several of the largest employers. In…