of BEGINNING RURAL SCHOOL TEACHERS 1953-54 A Brief Report of a Pilot Survey Circular No. 446 By WELLS HARRINGTON and MABEL C. RICE under the general direction of HERBERT S. CONRAD, Chief Research and Statistical Standards Section U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Oveta Culp Hobby, Secretary Samuel Miller Brownell, Commissioner BY STATES OF The public elementary and secondary school systems within the States of the Nation can for many purposes be fruitfully classified as (1) city school systems, (2) suburban school systems, (3) county-unit school systems, and (4) rural school systems. These categories, of course, overlap to some extent; thus, rural school units are in certain States typically part of a county-unit system. The present study relates to small rural school districts (with fewer than 300 pupils) which are not part of a county-unit system. In several respects, these small rural school districts constitute one of the "problem areas" of American education. One of the first problems is the lack of quantitative information about such school districts. The present study makes a pioneer effort to obtain directly, by a sampling technique, significant information regarding the salaries and other characteristics of beginning teachers in these small rural districts. The study is limited to "beginning" teachers, principally because special interest attaches at the present time to the recruitment of new or beginning teachers. Because of the small number of beginning teachers included in the survey, the findings in the present report must be accepted with some reservation. It is clear, however, that a large fraction (nearly 60 percent) of the beginning teachers in these small rural school districts are not four-year college graduates, and receive salaries which can only be described as low. The findings suggest, if they do not prove, that the pupils in these small rural school districts are not receiving equal treatment with pupils in larger districts. While rural education cannot be, and should not be, a copy of urban education, the differential should not relate to the salary and general qualifications of the teaching staff. We wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the rural school district officials and school officers who supplied the basic data for the present report. Thanks are due, also, to Mr. Robert F. Drury and Mrs. Gertrude A. Whitehouse, of the Governments Division of the Bureau of the Census, who advised regarding use of the Census list of school districts from which the present survey-sample was drawn. Fenneth Little J. KENNETH LITTLE Deputy Commissioner Herbert S. Conrad HERBERT S. CONRAD, Chief Research and Statistical Standards |