The choice of selected school options by pupils in secondary school, particularly mathematics and physical sciences, have implications for future educational pathways in higher education [Felouzis, G. (1997). "L'efficacité des enseignants, Sociologie de la relation pédagogique." Paris: Presses Universitaires de France; Moreau, G. (2005).…

This article reports on a study that examined the readiness levels of students in the South African context. Particularly, the study explored the differences between various students' academic proficiency, support mechanisms, motivational levels and overall integration with the university. A quantitative approach was used and 117 full-time…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the needs and aspirations of international students studying at a comprehensive university campus in the USA in comparison to domestic students represented by factors that drive students' college choice. Design/methodology/approach: The study opted for a survey design through questionnaire and…

This study examines the current lives of thirty-five individuals who participated in high school gifted programs twenty years ago. The research specifically looked at educational attainment and career goals in terms of expressed aspirations in high school, using social media and other Internet sources. Results indicated continued support for the…

This article documents narrative experiences from alumni who participated in the GEAR UP program. The San Jose State University GEAR UP program, based on an intensive counseling model, is grounded in social capital and resilience theories, and is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in…

As with earlier social disparities in educational achievement, re-enrolment in college education can depend on parental social background. We link this finding with gender differences using data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Youth 79 and ask if the decision to re-enrol in college is influenced by parental social class in a…

There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain…

Recent Australian government targets for higher education participation have produced a flurry of activity focused on raising the aspirations of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. In this paper we test two key assumptions underpinning much of this activity: that students from low-SES backgrounds hold lower career…

This study examined US undergraduate students' intent to study abroad upon college entry and their actual participation in study abroad during their undergraduate years, correlating the college outcomes of three cohorts to identify trends. The findings show that study abroad intent and participation are interrelated and shaped by an array of…

What early experiences attract students to pursue an education and career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? Does hands-on research influence them to persevere and complete a major course of academic study in STEM? We evaluated survey responses from 149 high school and undergraduate students who gained hands-on research…

Parents' aspirations and expectations are communicated to their offspring. Children internalize their parents' aspirations and accept some of the expectations while rejecting others, all part of the developmental process and identity-consolidation. When the aspirations and expectations of youth and parents are incongruent, the outcomes…

The Reconstructed Cohort Method is often used to examine the status of national education. However, this method does not account for individual details and we know little about the status of school enrolments by tracking individual students from entrance until dropout or graduation. This study employs the True Cohort Method to analyse data for…

From the Wisconsin status attainment model to rational choice, classical sociological, social-psychological, and economic theories of student educational transitions have assumed that students' expectations are positively related to their ultimate attainment. However, the growth of the college-for-all ethos raises questions about that assumption.…

There is disagreement in the literature regarding the influence of social and cultural factors on the propensity for young people to undertake higher education. This study draws upon a national data set of over 45,000 young people to assesses their propensity to progress to bachelor level study, while controlling for their ethnic backgrounds,…

While research into educational inequalities emphasizes childhood socio-economic status, this study adds another dimension of status into the analysis; namely, the child's own social position among its peers. The aim was to examine whether socio-economic status and peer status can both be linked to educational transitions and, if so, whether they…