This book focuses on the plight of the academic middle of graduating high school students. These students have been led to believe that the only way to succeed is to attend a four-year college, even though they are unprepared for college work. As a result, half of the students who begin college fail to graduate, and even those who do graduate…

The study of educational and career aspirations of black youth who have grown up in a military environment (racially desegregated for almost two decades) was undertaken to provide a preview of gains that might result from wider desegregation. The researchers present portraits of the families of the children studied, discussing fathers' careers and…

This book presents an overview of working-class life in England, showing how women from working-class backgrounds still seldom achieve higher level academic qualifications and the lifestyle to which they lead. Analyzing her own experience and that of others of similar background, the author shows how their mothers and fathers held low expectations…

This volume is largely based on data from the Sloan Study of Youth and Social Development, a 5-year study begun in 1989 when many of the students were in eighth grade (n=7,000). This account presents good news and bad news about our teenagers. Contrary to prevailing notions, theirs is the most ambitious generation yet, but because schools and…

There are great parallels between the School-to-Work Opportunities Act and the legislation which produced transition services for individuals with disabilities. The rationale is clearly the same: a real recognition and concern exists about the difficult transition that faces all high school graduates as they prepare to live on their own, assume…

The conditions and experiences of black students in higher education in the 1970s are addressed in 27 essays. The essays are categorized in terms of: history and profile; admissions and access; enrollment, academic experience, and career choice; black higher educational survival; recruitment and retention; and structural policies. Among the…