Aspirations predict students' trajectories, and knowledge of how youth develop and achieve goals is crucial to supporting success. However, rural students may encounter constraining conditions that can curtail their aspirations, and students of color often face institutional barriers that impact their postsecondary pathways. Guided by theories…

This paper, presented at the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society at Iowa State University, August, 1961, describes a study of the relation of Morman religious values and the desire to attend college. Interviews were held with 287 high school age boys and girls living in three central Utah counties which had a high concentration (91%)…

Seventeen adolescents from four rural high schools in upstate New York were interviewed while in the 12th grade and again a year later. Interviews focused on student perceptions of their community, school, and social life; values; and future plans. All participants graduated from high school, and most went on to college or moved to another…

This report examines the factors that influence the postsecondary enrollment and persistence of rural Pennsylvania students, compared to students from urban and suburban areas. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 provided data on 216 rural, 103 urban, and 323 suburban high school graduates from Pennsylvania. Depending on their status…

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…