The familiar advertising slogan, "Up here it's different," used to attract visitors to the rugged beauty of County Donegal, was correct in highlighting that things are different in Donegal, although not for the reasons one might connect with tourism. For many, Donegal evokes nostalgic images of old, rural Ireland such as close community…

The survival of many rural communities is threatened by complex interacting economic and social conditions. Schools can play a significant role in revitalizing rural communities. Three approaches to community development involve community as curriculum; school as community center; and school-based economic development. Successful programs…

Updated vocational agricultural programs and school-based enterprises can help rebuild rural economies. Advantages of vocational agricultural programs include leadership training, a problem-solving approach to the teaching of sciences and mathematics, and strong community support. School-based enterprises combine educational objectives and local…

Suggests that school-to-work initiatives can be an important policy tool for rural development. Discusses key components of school-to-work systems (school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities); national and international trends impacting rural economies; rural advantages and weaknesses related to economic development; and…

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…

Community colleges across the United States have initiated programs that are making an impact on the productivity of rural America and its residents. Profiles of 20 community and technical college initiatives in rural economic development are contained in this report intended for use by community and technical college administrators. The programs…

Bordering on North Carolina, the Dan River region of Southside Virginia is a largely rural area south of the state capitol, Richmond, and 135 miles east of Virginia Tech's main residential campus in Blacksburg. The structural problems evident today in this expanse of wooded areas, fields, small cities, and towns were born, in large measure, of the…

Community development depends on capable, visionary local leaders and on informed and active citizens. Thus, in the long run, education for all citizens may be the most critical ingredient to the success of rural community development programs. Schools can further contribute to the development of rural communities by providing an explicit…

This book addresses the need for research information that can be used as a foundation for rural development policy. Part I deals with the four components of rural development: education (human capital), entrepreneurship, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure. Part II examines analytic methods of measuring rural development efforts,…

Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho, developed a model program, Partnerships Project, designed to provide rural community residents with access to higher education and to assist communities in increasing their local capacity for development. In pursuing these objectives, the program helped to change the nature of the postsecondary undertaking in…