The study was designed: (1) to investigate civic, recreational, and extra-curricular activities in which teachers in rural schools participated; (2) to find out what percent of rural teachers originally came from rural communities; (3) to discover advantages and disadvantages of teaching in rural schools; (4) to determine areas of preservice preparation in which rural teachers believed they were most adequately prepared; and (5) to determine those areas of preservice preparation in which rural teachers believed work should either be initiated or improved. A questionnaire, disseminated to over 1,500 rural teachers in 10 rural states, was utilized to gather the data for the study. Seven findings led to the conclusions that rural teachers needed preparation different from that of urban teachers, teacher education programs were not meeting the needs of rural teachers, personal identification with and liking for the rural community were important factors in teacher satisfaction with the rural school, the main advantages of the rural school were the opportunity for personal interaction with the students and the opportunity to belong to the rural community; lack of facilities was a widely noted disadvantage. Numerous recommendations were developed for teacher preparation programs and for further research. Sample size and questionnaire methods are noted among the limitations. Samples of the questionnaire and letters are included. (SW)