Less than 24 hours after police murdered George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protesters organized in several cities to demand that their elected officials defund their police and redirect this funding to better healthcare, schools, public transportation, affordable housing, and food security. Eventually, these protesters came together in rural…

Using data from sixty-eight interviews conducted with men and women raised in rural counties in Pennsylvania, we ask how growing up in rural settings shapes people's aspirations regarding work over three periods. We find that participants' early aspirations during their late teens were shaped by rurality, gender, and class. During the transition…

This study is designed to include four waves of data collection, conducted approximately every other year, beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2011. This report briefly describes the procedures used for the third wave of data collection, completed in 2008-2009, and the results from a sample of Pennsylvania's rural 11th grade youth and youth…

In 2004, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania contracted with Pennsylvania State University to begin a longitudinal study of rural Pennsylvania school students to understand their educational and career aspirations and the factors influencing their aspirations, whether their plans change as they age and if they attain their goals. In its entirety,…

This study uses an ecological systems framework to examine how indicators of individual, family, and school contexts are associated with post-secondary educational enrollment among a sample of rural youth. Structural equation modeling allows us to examine both direct and indirect effects of these contexts on school enrollment. Unique elements of…

A panel of 294 non-metropolitan Pennsylvania women was studied first in 1970 when they were high school sophomores and again in 1981 to assess the relationship between traditional and nontraditional role behaviors and changes in sex-role attitudes. As adolescents in 1970, the women were either extremely liberal or traditional. As young adults in…

Indicators of normative traditionalism were derived from 1947 and 1970 attitude surveys of adolescents from 68 Pennsylvania high schools. Rural-urban character of the areas was indexed by 1950 and 1970 census materials. Although 1970 normative climates were more permissive, findings suggest continuing utility of rural-urban distinction in dealing…

This study was undertaken in order to learn more about the background factors and characteristics of youth that appear to be associated with enrollment, involvement, and attrition from 4-H. In addition, the study sought to determine the manner in which community setting influences awareness of 4-H, enrollment and involvement in, and attrition from…

This report examines the factors that influence the postsecondary enrollment and persistence of rural Pennsylvania students, compared to students from urban and suburban areas. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 provided data on 216 rural, 103 urban, and 323 suburban high school graduates from Pennsylvania. Depending on their status…

A survey of rural secondary school students examined the formation of adolescent occupational identity by identifying predictors of students' ideal jobs. Data were collected from 612 of the approximately 750 students in grades 7-12 in a rural Pennsylvania school district. Predictors of choice of ideal job, by descending influence, were gender,…

This report provides demographic, statistical, and other indicator data related to rural education in the Mid-Atlantic region of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The data are intended to aid state rural assistance councils in developing plans to improve rural schools. One obstacle to consistent policy implementation is the…

The interests of two different at-risk populations in Pennsylvania are compared. Both urban minorities and rural youth participated in programs designed to motivate them to continue their education. Participants (52 rural and 30 urban middle school students) completed an interest survey as part of the program orientation. Although the rural youth…

Describes a two-year (1983-1985) systems study of the human services provided adolescents aged 10-17 and their families in one rural Pennsylvania community. Describes teacher/student survey, human services utilization survey, case reviews, and development of community-based advocacy plan. Discusses study's impact on local human services network…

Study objectives were to assess actual changes in normative traditionalism which had occurred in a sample of rural Pennsylvania areas and to determine the extent to which the changes in traditionalism were associated with the rurality of these areas. Utilizing a combination of socioeconomic data (census derived) and longitudinal data obtained via…