Purpose is a concept receiving increasing attention in the developmental sciences. Making sense of your place in the world and finding meaning--a process fundamental to purpose--support positive development in adolescence and beyond. Using traditional ethnographic strategies, this article examines the development of purpose among a small group of…

Despite the significant proportions of rural Americans, schools, and public school students situated in the geographic peripheries of an increasingly urbanizing country, rural education in the United States has consistently occupied both scholarly and policy peripheries. This is to the detriment of rural America, especially to the extent that…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE THE EDUCATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF THE 1959 HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AT JUAB, SANPETE, AND SEVIER COUNTIES UTAH. INFORMATION WAS GATHERED AS OF OCTOBER 1960, AND APRIL 1961, THROUGH THE USE OF MAIL QUESTIONNAIRES AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS. FINDINGS INCLUDED--(1) RATES OF COLLEGE ATTENDANCE ON THE PART…

A STUDY CONDUCTED IN 1948 ACCUMULATED THE MIGRATION EXPECTATIONS AND BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF 157 SENIORS FROM 9 RURAL HIGH SCHOOLS IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA. THESE SAME RESPONDENTS WERE REINTERVIEWED IN 1956 AND AGAIN IN 1967 (152 AND 143 RESPECTIVELY RESPONDED FOR THE 2ND AND 3RD INTERVIEWS), CONCERNING THEIR MIGRATION PERFORMANCES AT THOSE…

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%)…

THE VALUE ORIENTATION OF MANY RURAL YOUTH FAILS TO BRING ABOUT SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION INTO THE COUNTRY'S LABOR FORCE. THIS FAILURE IS MORE PRONOUNCED WITH THOSE YOUTH WHO EXPERIENCE EXTREME ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE FROM A MINORITY GROUP SUCH AS NEGROES, SPANISH AMERICANS, OR INDIANS. THE GOVERNMENT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY FOR…

Levels of educational and occupational aspiration and expectation of 139 male and female, rural, New Mexican, American Indian youth (sophomores and seniors) were examined. Utilizing questionnaires and fixed-choice stimulus questions, data were gathered to determine: educational and occupational aspirations and expectations; goal deflections for…

SINCE 1900, RURAL AMERICA HAS EXPERIENCED AN AIMLESS TRANSITION. PRIOR TO THAT DATE, A WELL ESTABLISHED PATTERN HAD EVOLVED WHICH INCLUDED THE DIVISION OF THE LAND AREA INTO FAMILY FARM UNITS AND TOWNS, WITH SMALL CITIES EMERGING AS TRADE AND SERVICE CENTERS FOR THE FARM POPULATION. DURING THIS PERIOD OF TRANSITION, HOWEVER, CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE…

RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS, EXPECTATIONS, AND ANTICIPATORY GOAL DEFLECTION EXPERIENCED BY NEGRO FEMALES RESIDING IN LOW INCOME RURAL AND URBAN AREAS. TWO OPEN END QUESTIONS WERE USED TO OBTAIN RESPONSE MODES THAT WOULD SERVE AS INDICATORS OF OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS. THE RESPONSE MODES WERE…

Analysis of georeferenced population data for Finland, 1970-2000, showed that rural youth, particularly rural young women, have been moving out of sparsely populated areas to growth centers and more densely populated areas in general. Interview data from young people included attitudes toward migration versus staying put, usually related to…

Most Americans view small towns and rural areas as ideal places to grow up and raise a family, yet 1990 census data reveal that most rural areas are losing population, particularly the young. Teenagers who live in rural communities are likely to have important insights into this contradiction. Approximately 5,600 students attending 114 rural high…

This study reports on levels of achievement among rural black and white Southerners of relatively low socioeconomic status. The 262 persons who were the objects of the study were reared in Millfield, North Carolina. They were first studied by Baughman and Dahlstrom (1968) in the early 1960s when they were in the eighth grade. Ten years later, this…

As part of a far-reaching research project on educational needs of the rural disadvantaged, this phase of the Rural Education Disadvantaged Youth Project (Project REDY) dealt with the development and evaluation of a vocationally-oriented family-centered educational program. The model program, which was field-tested at a single site, focused upon:…

THE PURPOSES OF AN INVESTIGATION WERE TO TEST THE PROPOSITION THAT RURAL NEGRO AND WHITE YOUTH HAVE SIMILAR LEVELS OF SOCIAL ASPIRATION AND TO EXAMINE POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS THAT CAN BE DRAWN FROM THE FINDINGS. THE RESEARCHERS HYPOTHESIZED THAT NEGRO AND WHITE YOUTH HOLD GOALS OF SIMILAR LEVELS IN REFERENCE TO INCOME, OCCUPATION, EDUCATION, AND…

In an effort to determine to what extent ethnic groups are associated with differences in adolescents' projected frames of status reference, data were collected from Negro, Mexican American, and Anglo youth residing in rural areas of Texas. Occupational and educational status projections were compared to determine levels of aspiration and…