ABSTRACT:
Taking the future of rural schools as a starting point, this paper approaches the social, political and economic context that either supports or doesn't support the presence of rural schools. We also offer schools' analysis in different contexts, particularly in Brazil, Portugal and United States. We problematize the public, academic and communal responses on school closure, the student's number and rural communities with schools' reduction, their operating conditions, the distance traveled by the students and the schools' importance to the vitality of the countryside. We conclude that the future of schools is directly related to the future of the countryside.
Keywords:
Rural education; Brazil; United States; Portugal.