Economic and Marketing Information
FOR INDIANA   FARMERS
Prepared by the Agricultural Staff of Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana
February  28,   1962
SCHOOL REORGANIZATION—where do ive stand?
I. R. Janssen, Farm Economics Division
Economic Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture
The Constitution of the State of Indiana states ". . .
it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual,
scientific, and agricultural improvement; and to provide,
by law, for a general and uniform system of Common
Schools, . . ."
However, in spite of efforts of the Legislature
to provide more equality of opportunity, studies
have indicated wide differences in the education
available in this state. This is especially true in the
high schools because of variations in enrollments,
teacher qualifications, teaching load, size of student body,
and taxable wealth and expenditure per pupil.
A little over a generation ago, we were concerned
about establishing high schools in Indiana. It was the
common belief that if every young person had an opportunity to attend high school, the community had fulfilled its responsibility. We now recognize that the kind
of high school education—or the lack of it—that young
people get has an important effect on the kinds of occupations they engage in and their success in competing in the job market.
In view of our current programs to make better use
of human and physical resources, stimulate economic
development of rural areas and increase incomes, the
kind and amount of education is increasingly important. People in rural areas usually lack the training
desirable for new industries and services in the community. Too, numerous studies have indicated that most
areas distant from an industrial center cannot provide
enough job opportunities for all their young people.1
Thus, unless they migrate to other areas, they experience considerable unemployment or underemployment.
While this situation is worse in the poor land areas, it
exists in good land areas as well. Other studies
?how that young people who migrate to urban centers
from  rural  areas  often  have  higher  paying jobs than
those who remain at home. But they do not seem to
compete well for skilled, managerial, and professional
occupations. The work they find is frequently in the
unskilled, manual or semi-skilled area, giving them
lower pay and lower status than are usually obtained by
young people from urban areas. Several studies indicated that both the educational background of rural
people and their attitude toward education are partly
responsible for these differences.2 In today's job market,
young people need a high school education to compete.
Older workers have a stake in our educational system.   If younger  people  are  not well prepared  to  find
Conclusions of these studies are summarized by B. T. Inman
and John H. Southern, Opportunities for Economic Development
in Low Production Farm Areas, Agricultural Information Bulletin
324,  USDA,  November  1960.
2 Among these, see Lee G. Burchinal, Differences in Educational
and Occupational Apsirations of Farm, Small Town and City
Boys,  Rural  Sociology, 26:107-121,  1961.