Rural Education and Montana.

Overview & Synopsis

Synthesizing previous research, statements, and special reports calling attention to the unique problems associated with rural education, this paper presents definitions, statistics, and recommendations applicable to rural education and to Montana. Among the topics presented are: a contemporary definition of rurality (nonmetropolitan is posited as the more contemporary definition since its emphasis on rural experience encompasses more people--31.4% of the total U.S. population); tabular data describing U.S. population by place of residence (metro, nonmetro, rural nonfarm, and rural farm); discussion of the President's National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty, "The People Left Behind"; tabular data re: the number of public school systems and the number of pupils enrolled by size of system in the U.S. (1975); discussion re: the lack of pre-school, vocational, and kindergarten education programs in rural areas; the retention of quality teachers and teacher education programs in rural areas; and maintaining and supporting quality facilities and instructional materials in rural areas. Demonstrating the degree to which rural education problems have not been addressed, this paper presents a brief but pointed statistical profile of education in Montana. Citing recommendations coming from the U.S. Office of Education's Task Force Report on Rural Education (establishment of a rural unit in USOE, development of a National Center for Rural Education, provision of funding for teacher incentive, shared services, and interstate councils, etc.), this paper asserts that implementation will achieve major goals for rural education. (JC)