Distance Education Applications in Rural Special Education: Where We've Been and Where We're Going
In the last decade, distance education applications in rural special education have expanded rapidly with the growing use of telecommunications technologies. Distance education has been used in direct service programs for students with special needs in rural school systems, in preservice personnel preparation programs, and in inservice training programs for teachers working in rural areas. State educational agencies, colleges and universities, and regional and local school districts all have implemented distance education efforts to support rural special education using a variety of new technologies. Distance education will continue to offer exciting opportunities in which the needs of pupils, preservice students, and inservice teachers will be met as telecommunications technologies become more widely available and organizational constraints are eliminated.
Views of Students in the Department of Recreation and Sport Management on Distance Education.
This study aims to investigate viewpoints of students in recreation and sport management department on distance education, and the effects of sex, having computers and internet access at home, family’s monthly income, district of the family, and students’ level of class on these viewpoints. Survey method was used to carry out the study. The sample of the study consisted of the students who attend Recreation and Sports Management Departments of Physical Education and Sports High School in Sakarya University. In order to gather information, a questionnaire was developed by the researcher, and it was applied to 292 students. Several statistical techniques such as frequency, percentage, t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The result of the study showed that the variables like sex, having a computer and an internet access at home, monthly income of the families of students, the place where students’ families live and class levels of the students have an influence on their opinions.
Problems in Implementing Comprehensive Special Education Programing in Rural Areas
Data were collected for the National Rural Research and Personnel Preparation Project, funded by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, to investigate problems in implementing comprehensive special education programs. Cultural, geographic, climatic, socioeconomic and other inhibiting factors were analyzed in relation to implementation of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Although all major aspects of P.L. 94-142—the concept of the least restrictive environment; due process procedures; individualized education programs (IEP's); and parent involvement—were identified as problems for rural schools, three primary hindering factors were identified: (1) teacher retention and recruitment problems, (2) rural attitudinal problems, and (3) problems based on rural terrain. It was found that these problems emanated from tradition bound rural environments and were exacerbated by geographic and climatic demands of remote, isolated areas. The initial study was followed by a study identifying interrelated effective and cost efficient service delivery strategies and community and district subtypes.