Community engagement programs offer college students an opportunity to impact youth in rural, low-income communities. While in a rural setting where educational training and support is not abundant, college students learn about struggles that rural, low-income youth face in exploring and attending postsecondary education options. The Alternative…

Violence exposure among rural youths is a significant public health problem, yet little research has been conducted on violence in this setting. This study explored rural youths' direct and indirect experience of violence in the neighborhood, school, and home. The author used hierarchical regression analyses to explore youth violence exposure,…

Among 492 rural Ohio high school students surveyed in 1979, 78.3% had used alcohol at least once and 51.3% had used marijuana at least once, contrasting previous research reporting low substance use among rural youth. Socio-demographic and family variables had only limited utility for understanding drug or alcohol abuse. (SB)

Panel studies examined changes in the educational and occupational aspirations of 191 rural Ohio youth. The 1988 survey questions were similar to those asked in a study conducted 3 years earlier when subjects were 10th and 12th graders. Major findings were: (1) the influence of school personnel on student career and curriculum choices was less…

This paper examines rural high school students' educational and occupational expectations and their relationships to personal, educational, school, and family characteristics. Questionnaires were distributed to all 10th and 12th graders in four small rural high schools in diverse geographic regions of Ohio. Almost all of the 491 respondents were…

Despite increasing graduation requirements and the limited vocational offerings in rural schools, many rural high school students still enroll in vocational education courses. This study examined factors influencing the decisions of rural Ohio high school students to select vocational education courses. In spring 1988, an interview and…

This paper examines the relationships between high school curriculum (academic, general, and vocational) and students' occupational and educational aspirations in rural schools. The study was conducted in Ohio and then replicated in Southwest Georgia. In Ohio, 767 predominantly white rural senior students completed a questionnaire and the…

This study described the nature of the students enrolled in vocational agriculture in Clark County, Ohio. The study determined the relationship between the family farm situation of the students and their occupational goals, reasons for their decisions to enroll, after-graduation plans, and whether they are male or female. (CT)

In numerous midwestern industrial cities, the greatest influx of rural urban migrants is from the southern Appalachia region. The migrant mountaineer comes from a rural way of life which emphasizes individualism, traditionalism, self-reliance, and strong loyality to an extended family peer group. In the urban environment, the migrant finds himself…

A self-reporting questionnaire (57 items) was administered to all high school sophomores (599 completions) in 3 rural Ohio high schools for purposes of identifying correlations between selected social factors and acts of vandalism. The variables examined and the student responses indicated: 52% had committed 1 or more acts of vandalism; 37% were…

A comparative, interpretive analysis of the social organization of contrasting groups of rural youth from New Mexico ad Ohio was approached from an ethnomethodological perspective, relying on direct observation, intensive personal interviews, and key informants to produce a broader understanding of particular youth coping with their social…

Teachers, especially home economics teachers, would be better prepared to evaluate subject matter and to separate fact and personal opinion if they had a better understanding of diverse student backgrounds. To find out such background information, a study was conducted to analyze attitudes and values held by junior and senior students in home…