Attitudes and Orientations of Rural Groups and Effects on Educational Decision-Making and Innovation in Rural School Districts: A Synthesis of Research.

The rural community is characterized by a decreasing population and an eroding of local taxable wealth which contribute to the ineffectiveness of community agencies or institutions to serve citizens' needs. The rural community resists widespread effort to change existing conditions since rural people are generally conservative and often do not have the financial resources to solve indigenous problems. Although local boards of education are delegated the authority to determine educational policy, they rarely make decisions that might raise the ire of the local power structure. To a large degree, local educational programs are determined by the attitudes of local administrators, teachers, school board members, parents, and other adults in the community. Most administrators and teachers in rural areas are themselves products of the rural subculture and reflect the attitudes of the community in which they work. Education continues to be viewed as an expense rather than an investment, with the school being an agency for passing on the eternal verities rather than an agency for social change. The recent move toward the educational cooperative and an emphasis in administrator and teacher preparation programs on educational change and innovation are seen as constructive efforts to improve rural schools. (JH)