Evaluation of Special Education in Rural Settings

• Main Authors: Illback, Robert J, Ellis, John L
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 01.08.1981
• Subjects: Delivery Systems; Elementary Secondary Education; Needs Assessment; Planning; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Psychological Evaluation; Rural Schools; Rural Urban Differences; School Psychologists; Special Education; State of the Art Reviews; Student Needs

School psychologists who work in rural areas face difficult problems because of the setting in which they practice. Traditional models for delivering psychological services in urban and suburban schools are not typically generalizable to rural service delivery. Rural school districts tend to be closed and rigid, reflecting the nature of the community structure. School management may rely heavily on tradition and attempts to promote innovations are often met with opposition. Monetary constraints are faced by nearly all rural schools. These conditions make the implementation of special education services in rural settings difficult. Rural areas present difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified special education staff, community resistance to change and suspicion of outside interference, and geographical problems. The practice of rural school psychology faces similar problems. The rural school psychologist must be a program planner and evaluator, taking a multilevel, multidimensional perspective. The rural practitioner must engage in needs assessment, program planning and development, implementation, and outcome evaluations. Despite potential problems and implications for training, rural school psychologists, in order to be effective, must adopt innovative methods of practice. (Author/NRB)