Joining Rural Development Theory and Rural Education Practice.

Karl N. Stauber proposes three goals for rural development policy: helping the rural middle class survive, reducing concentrated rural poverty, and sustaining and improving the quality of the natural environment. In contrast to other visions, he advises policy that focuses on rural places rather than rural economic sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. Paralleling Stauber's plea for more investment in places, rural K-12 educators have been working to develop place-based pedagogy and to sustain small schools and districts as key parts of rural communities. Smaller-scale schools and districts have been shown to be particularly effective in enhancing academic achievement in impoverished communities. Rural developers and rural educators have begun to recognize mutual interests in identifying and revitalizing local stores of cultural, social, and human capital; protecting the environment; and finding competitive niches in state and global economies. Recommendations for policymakers interested in joining rural development and educational practice include: becoming more knowledgeable about the significance of place in rural development initiatives and educational reform; strengthening new development and education programs that support place-based learning, sustainable agriculture, and entrepreneurial economic development; taking a stand against rural school consolidation in isolated and high-poverty rural areas; recognizing schools as important assets in community infrastructure; and developing policy that simultaneously addresses rural community development and strengthens small schools and districts in which community identities and social capital reside. (Contains 47 references and 15 Web sites.) (TD)