Scholars have argued that, on average, immigrant students are 'optimists' and have higher educational aspirations than non-migrant students after accounting for students' socio-economic background and educational performance. However, ethnic minority groups, which proxy the different origin backgrounds of migrants, may show mixed findings in terms…

Out-of-classroom activities can help cultivate interest and literacy in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. To determine how a week-long out-of-classroom experience might impact STEM interest in adolescents, a free summer camp was offered to students entering grades 6-8. During this time, students participated in…

Despite the shift from elite to mass education, the odds of accessing university remain stacked in favour of those with a university-educated parent. Not only are first-generation students less likely to engage in higher education, but the dominant narrative surrounding their enrolment emphasises cultural deficiency, constructing individuals as…

Influencers are individuals or entities that meaningfully contribute through a socially constructed process to the formation of educational aspirations and possibly to their attainment. The effect of a specific influencer may differ within the context of multiple influencers. The aim of the current mixed methods study was to investigate how…

Myriad structural- and individual-level assets (e.g., close connections within and among families) and barriers (e.g., systemic racism) shape the postsecondary pathways of rural Indigenous students. The current literature review summarizes and synthesizes existing literature on rural Indigenous students' postsecondary educational aspirations and…

Latina/o rural students are underrepresented in college and the research of their college choice process. Using Bourdieu's habitus, and Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth Conceptual Model, this qualitative study used interviews with 24 Latina/o rural high school students. Our findings explored how school habitus limits college options. Students use…

This article focuses on rural Australian students' decisions to pursue higher education, and compares metropolitan and rural higher education statistics, using select qualitative narratives to highlight rural subjectivities. By analysing school students' belonging process, this article begins to uncover the depth of the perceived influence of the…

Purpose: This study aims to explore the stories of two young refugee women, Sue Mar and Amora, and how their adolescent identities, experiences, and beliefs, partially shaped by their English teacher, helped pave their paths to higher education. Design/methodology/approach: This study is guided by the lens of critical literacy as "a way of…

As researchers and school stakeholders determine ways to best support Black and Latino adolescent boys from low-income communities in actualizing their postsecondary future ambitions, more attention is needed on the types of futures these boys imagine and how family members influence this process. Guided by "future orientations" and…

This study was designed to explore, record, explain and describe the lived experiences of African American male students engaged in mentorship programs for post-secondary education. This study takes an exploratory phenomenological approach to research and is conducted at a mentorship program site. The following research questions guided this study…

This study employed social capital and chain migration theory to understand the development of college aspirations and the college choice process of Latinx dual credit earners enrolled in engineering programs. Through semi-structured, one-on-one interviews, participants described the key individuals who inspired their college aspirations and…

This study examined predictors of test anxiety in a sample of 2528 Norwegian upper-secondary and postsecondary students by means of structural equation modeling. Results showed that personal goals related to career and grades positively predicted test anxiety, whereas self-efficacy beliefs were a negative predictor of test anxiety. In turn,…

Background: African American male students attending U.S. suburban schools remain severely underrepresented in Advanced Placement (AP) programs. A number of structural barriers, including racialized tracking policies; limited referrals from educators and school counselors; conventional AP practices centered on Eurocentric curricula, literature,…

This study examined the influence of equitable treatment on Latina/o students' college aspirations. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with Latina/o high school students' aspirations to attend college within the context of theory concerning the college search, choice, and enrollment processes. Data were drawn from a…

Parents, siblings, and peers have an immeasurable effect on shaping children into who they become as individuals. Many factors, such as one's relationships with these individuals, may have lasting effects on the educational and vocational outcomes of children who have multiple disabilities. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the…