Regional development should not be a unified process even for a small country such as Latvia. There is a stereotype that people living in big cities and rural areas differ in their values and behaviour. This study compares the human values of Riga, the Riga district urban area and different rural regions in Latvia. During the last three years - 2007, 2008 and 2009 the survey of 1450 inhabitants showed no substantial difference in peoples' social values; comparing rural and urban locations. Rather, a noticeable difference in human values between people living in different regions of Latvia was observed. It was also observed that the set of values expands in different directions over time, forcing a future increase in fragmentation and segmentation of the population in the country.

The migration of many rural youngsters to bigger cities and other countries in order to find a place for better life and job is not only economic but also educational and up-bringing problem nowadays. The development of the Latvian countryside is closely connected with the investment of educated young people in the long-term creative development of the native country. Latvia University of Agriculture students consider that one of the reasons of leaving their native land rather easily is because they were not purposefully brought up in the field of the patriotism and the feelings of belonging to their native country. Higher educational establishments apply different study models dependent mainly on the aims of educational institutions. The aim of this work is to develop a study model of 'Rural tourisms' taking into account that the study course 'Rural Tourism' has its up-bringing potential which can help to increase the development of students' patriotic attitude during the acquisition of Latvian cultural and historic inheritance. The priority of the study course 'Rural Tourism' in Latvian higher educational establishments is supposed to contribute to the development of students' entrepreneurial skills but this direction does not increase the development of students' patriotism. The above mentioned developed study model is based mainly on the dynamics of the relationship between the study program and the development of students' patriotism.

Family relations have always played and still play an important role in the system of social relations. The family is a primary social cell; if executes the fundamental functions of prolongation of relation, upbringing of young generation, and mutual moral and material support of family members. One of the main stages of family creation from both legal and social points of view is contracting a marriage. The form of entering into a marriage and the definition of family legal relations have been changing in the run of history depending on the culture, church and state relationship, and general philosophy of the particular period of time. The Old Testament of Holy Writ gives information about the marriage. In the ancient times marriage and family were more of a religious institution managed by the church, but as marriage is the roof of every legal establishment - family, relations, church, and state - it attracted a wider mass attention. The social and legal relations and aspects of Lithuanian rural family setting and its existence of different periods were really original and interesting. Researching the conception and development of the legal and social family relations and comparing them to the modern law, essential differences can be observed, but at the same similarities, which have not changed till our times, can be found. At all times the prevailing family model in Lithuania was the traditional family model and the main differences in comparison to the modern family model are the forms of marriage registration and its stability. This family model was predominant in the rural areas of late XIX century Lithuania.