| Abstrakt: |
This paper reports on a study of a rural school district in the Piedmont section of North Carolina. Two major industrial cities were accessible to residents of the district. Dependency on these cities had increased since the turn of the century, including a recent upsurge in employment of district residents in urban industry. Conceptualization of the interaction of the neighborhoods of the school district in the context of the metropolitan community was accomplished by the use of the concept "boundary maintenance." Institutions, community organization and social stratification were analyzed as boundary mechanisms. Although change on a wide front had occurred, the school district retained considerable stability. The social organization of the district became more like that found in urban centers. Consolidation of schools brought the neighborhoods into a larger territorial unit, that had become more than an administrative entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
