As part of an ethnographic study of one rural school-community relationship, this paper explores how school and community leaders conceive of the purpose of schooling in their community, delineates the educational policies and practices that support this purpose, and offers insight into the implications of such a purpose. Adding to the rural…

"À Descoberta do Mundo Rural" [Discovering the Rural World] was a 15-month-long project, based on a partnership between the Institute of Educational Communities (ICE) and the Portuguese Association for Local Development (ANIMAR), both Portuguese NGOs, and financed by national and European funds. Its purpose was to identify and give…

This article explores how on-the-ground Extension educators interface with higher education service-learning. Most service-learning in Extension has focused on precollege youth and 4-H. When we look at higher education service-learning and Extension in Wisconsin, we see that there is not as much connection as might be expected. County-based…

In the struggle to remain true to their technical assistance and civic engagement missions in an era of shrinking budgets and increasingly complex accountability claims, land grant universities have developed different engagement strategies to contribute to the development of surrounding communities. Drawing on Flora and Flora's (in "Ann Am…

This essay examines how the social construction of community may influence faculty perceptions, roles, and actions in rural community development outreach. Special attention is given to the social construction of rural communities and how disciplinary perspective and popular culture influence these perceptions of community. The essay considers how…

The purpose of this study was to develop a substantive theory for community development by school-based agriculture programs through grounded theory methodology. Data for the study included in-depth interviews and field observations from three school-based agriculture programs in three non-metropolitan counties across a Midwestern state. The…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative operationalization of amenities that does not privilege certain kinds of natural resources and climatic conditions and that can be used for assessing the quality of life in small towns. The amenity inventory presented here extends previous literature by including a broad range of amenities…

"Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community" focuses on three successful approaches for using the school as a catalyst for community development and revitalization, particularly in rural areas. The strategies also work well in suburban and urban areas. The three approaches described include: leadership by K-12 teachers,…

In "Learning to Leave," Michael Corbett argues that: (1) education has served as a tool to disassociate students--both physically and culturally--from the places from which they come, particularly if they are from rural places, in effect creating an ambivalence toward education; (2) the ways in which individuals express this ambivalence…

Attracting and retaining effective education leaders and teaching staff for regional, rural and remote schools in Australia is a major sustainability and quality issue facing every State and Territory. It is also a major concern in pre-service teacher education, particularly for those universities which have a commitment to rural and regional…

When it comes to college towns and neighborhoods near urban campuses, quaint will not cut it anymore. An increasing number of institutions are finding ways--directly or indirectly--to promote a mix of commercial and residential development just beyond their borders that they hope will lure students and faculty. This article discusses how…

This article presents the findings of a study that explored the role and impact of continuing education on rural revitalization. A community development approach, academic expertise, and a university's resources were used to assist the citizens of Montmartre, Saskatchewan, to establish Centre 48, an arts and continuing education centre. Courses…

Building the research capacity of the vocational education and training (VET) sector is a key concern for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). To assist with this objective, NCVER supports an academic scholarship program, whereby VET practitioners are sponsored to undertake university study at honours', master's or…

Rural communities have fewer financial resources, making the community colleges located in these regions central to economic development. This chapter reviews the importance of recognizing the rural differential via policy changes and offers strategies to close the resource gap between rural and nonrural community colleges.

Describes Georgia university/community partnership to prevent juvenile delinquency at local level. Discusses goals to develop school/juvenile court staff relationship, establish local intra-agency staff groups to plan/coordinate services with troubled youth, and develop/implement prevention plan based on local needs. (NEC)