ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the issues in three clusters: teacher characteristics in sparsely populated areas; recruitment and retention problems; and support for rural teachers. It examines the issues surrounding the future of small rural schools. The chapter considers the economic aspects of rural education; concerns about the quality of education; the viability issue; and the alternatives to closure. Rural primary schools encompass everything from a poverty-stricken outpost with a single untrained teacher to a prosperous regional school with well-credentialed teachers for each grade level. The information supports the conventional wisdom about rural school transportation: more children must travel much longer distances at much higher costs in rural areas than in cities. Technology, too, has played a role in making distance learning a reasonable alternative to regular school attendance. At the preschool level, children in sparsely populated areas tend to have far fewer sources of intellectual stimulation and social interaction than metropolitan children.
