Historical changes reflected in the educational goals of black and white high school seniors in 1966 and 1972 were compared. The five orientation dimensions studied were aspiration, expectation, goal deflection, goal certainty, and goal intensity. Data were collected in the four contiguous Northeast Alabama counties of Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson,…

In order to develop an understanding of mentoring relationships and the impact these relationships might have on the development of high-risk adolescent females, this qualitative study explored the relationships between six "Little Sisters" and their Big Sisters mentors. The purposefully-selected sample included women and girls who were actively…

This study examines the effects of early experiences and behaviors on course failure, grade point average, and educational aspirations, analyzing survey data gathered from 20 high schools participating in a whole-school reform initiative aimed at helping troubled high schools. All of the schools served mainly poor and minority students. Students…

This paper is organized around three central questions: (1) What should be the primary goals of high school reform and what is the critical set of outcomes that matter for students? (2)Shat do we know about the strategies schools could use to pursue those goals? and (3) What are the implications of these strategies for the development of high…

The importance of considering the students's goal for attending community college in examining attrition is addressed. A total of 282 new students (18% of all new students) entering a community college in fall 1990 were tracked. Four items from the Entering Student Information Survey were examined: the degree the student plans to work toward at…

Students' orientations to learning, their perceptions of gain from their studies at Great Britain's Open University, and their development as learners were studied. Thirty students were followed from their first university course, the Social Science Foundation Course, through their two subsequent years of study, using in-depth interviews to…

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…

Different areas and regions of the nation have characteristically different rural high school systems due to differences in socioeconomic status of the residents, racial or ethnic membership, and family background. Differences in staffing patterns, enrollment levels, and school budgets are also characteristics that help to differentiate rural and…

The new journal "Teaching Education" is designed to improve instruction in schools, colleges, and departments of education. In order both to furnish a context for first person examinations of teaching strategies and to help legitimate scholarly discussion about classroom work among education faculty, the journal includes narratives on…

The relative influence of gender, coursework, affect, and other hypothesized determinants of mathematics achievement among high school seniors was examined, using data from the High School and Beyond (HSB) database. The HSB base-year survey used a multi-stage sampling scheme. Complete data on the variables of this study were available for 16,358…

The suggestion is made that the flood of middle-aged women who have recently turned away from traditional approaches to achievement may have shifted their orientation to changing options, but have always had a great desire to achieve. The effect of the changing values of the women's movement is discussed, and a grid of achievement motivation…

A comparison of the educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of 900 seniors in four Chicago high schools showed that college prep students had the highest educational and occupational aspirations and expectations. Vocational students had the greatest discrepancy between occupational aspirations and expectations, while general…

Past research is held to indicate a consistent relationship between participation in interscholastic athletics and educational orientations. This research is said to focus specifically on the "athletic success". Athletic success should be a stronger facilitator of the mobility attitudes of black youth, it is argued, because sports is…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant for a 5-year program designed to encourage college aspirations and preparation among disadvantaged rural youth. During the first 2 years, parents and students in nine counties were surveyed to determine their…

This study focuses on initial student interest in or demand for public, land-grant universities (PLGUs) within the six New England states for the years 1976-99. The study has three distinguishing features. First, time-series data for the six New England states are combined into a panel data set, and fixed effects and random effects models are used…