Provides an activity in which teachers can combine mental mapping with the five themes of geography (location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions) in order to help students develop an understanding of their world. Explains that the activity can be concluded by asking students to draw a mental map of the world. (CMK)

For the 2000-01 school year, $94,137 was reported as the mean of assistant superintendents' average salaries and $77,768 as the mean of directors' of finance and business average salaries. Salaries are affected by geographic region, enrollment size, and per-pupil spending. Increases have kept up with CPI cost of living increases. (MLH)

Clarifies the term "Appalachia" by discussing the economic and geographic points of reference related to the term, along with the difference between rural and urban Appalachia, and considers the culture of Appalachia. Focuses on teaching about Appalachia with picture storybooks. Includes an annotated bibliography. (CMK)

Examines what is known about transfer rates by geographic location and ethnic group, and what remains to be studied. Argues that differences between rural, urban, and suburban students must be further researched. (Contains 50 references.) (NB)

Regional suburbanization processes are transforming rural America socially and physically, threatening the uniqueness of small towns whose diversity is a national resource. This article reviews existing holistic descriptions of American rural communities since post-World War II by rural sociologists and anthropologists. Three new community case…

"Open Doors" is a long-standing, comprehensive information resource on over 565,000 international students in the United States in 2004/05 and on over 191,000 U.S. students who studied abroad for academic credit in 2003/04. The Institute of International Education, the largest and most experienced U.S. higher education exchange agency,…

"School Planning & Management"'s annual survey of school construction statistics including projects completed during 2005, projected completions for 2006, and projects that will begin construction during 2006. In addition to national figures, statistics are broken down to provide detail for 12 regions of the nation, as well as the…

Two large-scale studies assessed the nature and correlates of young Jamaicans' attitudes toward mental illness. In study 1, students viewed a videotaped job interview for a teacher whose history was manipulated to include a history of mental illness, or not. Students desired significantly less social distance (i.e., more contact) with the…

This article analyzes the effects of the number of siblings, their sex composition, and other individualization indicators intertwined with the development of a beanpole-type kin structure on exchanges among generations in Spain. The effects of this development vary depending on the point of view adopted: that of the parents or that of the adult…

This is the 31st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," 2009. Section 664(d) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA") (P.L. 108-446), as reauthorized in 2004, requires that the Department of Education report annually on the progress…

Background: Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA), a significant proportion of youth remains inactive. Studies assessing differences in the correlates of PA among urban and rural youth are scarce, and such investigations can help identify subgroups of the population that may need to be targeted for special intervention programs. The…

This report examines access to higher education in underserved regions of Michigan. This study focuses on specific concerns about postsecondary education access in three geographically diverse areas of the state: suburban Macomb County; the city of Saginaw; and six rural counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. The report provides a summary…

This book of instructional materials is intended to support the teaching and learning of themes, concepts and skills in geography at all levels of instruction. Divided into five parts, part 1 of this Teacher's manual, "Communicating Basic Spatial Ideas," offers the following: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Location"; (3) "Distance"; (4) "Direction"; (5)…

This paper is part of a larger study, conducted as part of a Christa McAuliffe Fellowship research project, "A Comparative Geography of Three Ecologically Similar Regions." The study compared the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland with the Murray River region of South Australia and the Rio de la Plata region of Uruguay. The project was…

This paper shows comparisons among the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland, the Murray River region of South Australia, and the Rio de la Plata region of Uruguay. Through comparative geography, students are to draw their own conclusions about the similarities and differences of the three regions. Teachers are encouraged to use other resources to aid…