Why do young refugees in the Dadaab camps in Kenya aspire to gain resettlement-based scholarships for tertiary education when the odds of getting them are minimal? The existing literature sheds light on the strong educational aspirations of refugee youth. However, our understanding is obscure of why they persistently pursue lofty educational goals…

Myriad structural- and individual-level assets (e.g., close connections within and among families) and barriers (e.g., systemic racism) shape the postsecondary pathways of rural Indigenous students. The current literature review summarizes and synthesizes existing literature on rural Indigenous students' postsecondary educational aspirations and…

Background: High academic aspirations relate to higher achievement and better mental health, but less is known about how these aspirations are formed in relation to the educational context. Objective: This study aims to investigate the relationship between overall school climate, with particular concern for the dimensions of school level…

Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were used to describe and compare postsecondary education enrollment patterns of first- and continuing-generation students. Social cognitive career theory was used to explain the processes of educational and career pursuit and attainment, as well as personal, behavioral, and…

As researchers and school stakeholders determine ways to best support Black and Latino adolescent boys from low-income communities in actualizing their postsecondary future ambitions, more attention is needed on the types of futures these boys imagine and how family members influence this process. Guided by "future orientations" and…

In this paper, we explore how secondary school students' participation in structured, math- and science-focused programs outside of school is associated with the aspiration to, and actual enrollment in, a STEM major in college. Moreover, we examine how varying sociodemographic backgrounds are related to their participation in these programs. Using…

The study was premised on the concern of the migrant African parents about their children's lack of aspiration for higher education after completing their secondary education in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. There appears to be little understanding of, or confusion around, the different pathways available to higher education in…

Do high school learners in Cape Town have realistic tertiary study plans? During 2015, 813 Grade 11 learners were surveyed with regard to their expectations for academic achievement and post-school plans. Learners attended average-performing, noor low-fee Cape Town high schools. Follow-up discussions were held with 10 learners, 2 teachers and 1…

Applying path analysis to 237 secondary school students and 320 post-secondary students in Singapore, parents' education was found to have important effects on adolescents' educational aspiration as mediated through educational track and adolescents' financial stress and self-esteem. This effect is strong for adolescents in both secondary and…

Purpose: This study examines the career and educational search competencies (CESC), a capability which may be necessary for a successful transition from high school to work or postsecondary education, of students from Shanghai and Hong Kong. Design/Approach/Methods: The data for this study was taken from the Main Study of PISA 2012 in Shanghai and…

Students' self-determination plays a critical role in both in-school and post-school outcomes. This study examined the self-determination of English learners with disabilities in secondary school, based on a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012). The NLTS 2012 youth survey, conducted in English and…

Many U.S. schools use visible security measures (security cameras, metal detectors, security personnel) in an effort to keep schools safe and promote adolescents' academic success. This study examined how different patterns of visible security utilization were associated with U.S. middle and high school students' academic performance, attendance,…

While experiences of students with disabilities transitioning from high school to college have been well documented, the influence exerted by selected factors on these experiences is less well understood. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, the influence of selected risk and resilience factors on the short-term postsecondary…

Individual interviews with 21 high-functioning adolescents diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and their parents were used to assess postsecondary educational aspirations and thoughts concerning obstacles and resources that shape educational achievement of this group. The results from these semistructured interviews revealed that both the…

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…