Gifted females have less frequently sought high-prestige and high-income careers due to a number of barriers. Some barriers are related to society's expectations of women, and others are related to the workplace itself. The most limiting and pervasive barrier is "sex role socialization's impact on the child's developing self-belief system"…

This paper examines the incentive structures in rural communities that encourage or discourage the accumulation of human capital. This is done by identifying the factors that influence educational performance in four school districts in rural Appalachian Virginia and Kentucky. A review of human capital theory, models, and functions generated six…

This paper discusses the use of multicultural materials from an integrated social studies and language arts curriculum to enhance the self-worth of rural at-risk students. The premise is that the use of this model will strengthen the positive correlation between self-concept and school achievement, thereby reducing risk factors. Theories of…

Rural youth are a diverse group not only geographically, but socioeconomically, ethnically, and culturally as well. Historically, the rural student has not achieved as well as his urban counterpart in high school or in post secondary education. There is evidence that this is beginning to change and that rural students are doing as well or better…

A report of 1 phase of a larger cross-cultural project, this paper is primarily concerned with the interrelated influences of perceived parental support and social class origins on the educational plans of comparable populations of American high school seniors and Norwegian "ungdomskole" students. The data was obtained via a…

This pilot study investigated self-esteem and achievement of 42 black male rural junior high school students identified as at-risk by their teachers. Self-esteem was significantly related to achievement test composite scores and science and mathematics subtests, as well as to average grade and English and social studies grades. (SLD)

The dramatic changes in Bulgaria's agriculture, labor structure, and demography caused by the establishment of socialism in the country in the mid-1940s have resulted in changing mechanisms of youth socialization. Industrialization and agricultural consolidation precipitated a rural-urban migration boom and a resulting higher education level,…

As an extension of previous work on perceived quality of life, this study investigated some possible effects of high school grade level (10th and 12th) and sex on perceived quality of school life. In addition, effects and relationships of these variables on/to academic achievement were investigated. The total sample was 63 rural high school…

A study designed to determine aptitudes, skills, and sociological and personal factors characterizing rural youth analyzed educational and personal differences of 2,929 students in eight rural Illinois counties during 1963-64. From data obtained through academic tests and personal questionnaires, it was concluded that although three-fourths of…

Using data collected from a stratified random sample of South Carolina high school seniors in 1969, the study compared the patterns of occupational choices among white and black boys and girls, and examined the relationship among race, sex, and teacher recruitment. Social class origin, local residence place, and scholastic performance were…

Focusing specifically on teaching as a career goal among rural youth in Norway, Germany, and the United States, this cross-national comparative study took into account the general patterning of career ambitions in each society--upward mobility opportunities, status attainment strategies, and organizational character of the educational systems…

Since motivation is an essential element in school success, it becomes critical that school psychologists understand how academic motivation influences middle school students' academic achievement. The behavior characteristics exhibited by academically motivated middle school students and some interventions for at-risk students are reported. The…

Early onset of at-risk behaviors has been recognized as an important predictor of severity of negative outcomes during adolescence, but little is known about rural children's involvement in such behaviors and related variables. In two rural Midwest counties with high concentrations of child poverty, a survey of 162 predominantly Caucasian fifth-…

Louisiana Tech University conducted a program to reduce drop-out probabilities for at-risk special needs adolescents as part of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Eighty-six students between the ages of 14 and 16 were chosen as "at-risk" based on economic disadvantage, lower academic performance, behavioral and adjustment problems,…

Performance of rural 13-year-olds on the 1971-1972 social studies assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were reviewed in terms of three major exercise themes. Performance on skill exercises revealed rural strengths in source selection and human affairs insights, but weaknesses in reading maps and graphs. Fewer than…