THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POTENTIAL AND ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL YOUTH IS RELATED TO THEIR SOCIAL BACKGROUND. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN AGRIBUSINESS ARE AVAILABLE FOR RURAL YOUTH, BUT THOSE FROM LOW-INCOME AREAS DO NOT PARTICIPATE. SPECIFIC PROGRAMS AIMED AT SHIFTING VALUE ORIENTATIONS ARE SEEN AS NECESSARY PREREQUISITES TO MEANINGFUL…

The study assessed the stability or change in the residential orientations of rural Mexican American youth living near the Texas-Mexico border, examined changes in the local social and economic environment, and made some predictions as to their effects on the students' dispositions. In the springs of 1967 and 1973, questionnaires were administered…

As part of a larger effort to determine marital and procreative trends in the South, an historical comparison was made of two samples of Northeast Alabama high school seniors. Similar questionnaires were group administered to all seniors present on the prescribed contact day in 19 randomly selected high schools in 1966 and again in 1972. The study…

Change in place of residence projections among rural Louisiana high school seniors was analyzed for the years 1968 and 1972. A proportionate, stratified random cluster sampling technique was employed for sample selection. A total of 20 schools (13 white and 7 black) constituted sample selection for 1968. In 1972 public school integration and…

Surveys of 158 West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy (GHA) students and 644 seniors in rural West Virginia high schools suggest that, compared to the latter, GHA students are less alienated; are not more eager to leave their community; exhibit stronger modern dispositions, but not weaker rustic dispositions; and are equally satisfied with their…

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…

In interviews, the 16 graduating seniors in Meadville, Missouri, expressed a preference for a small-town lifestyle, but had doubts about their town's viability. Discusses their educational and occupational aspirations. An insert describes youth programs sponsored by the Farmers Electric Co-op. (JAT)

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…

Current developmental theory and research are inadequate in explaining the development of rural youth, but a mid-1970s study of adolescents from a small Maine community provided three patterns of growth and suggested four lessons for social service professionals who work with rural adolescents. The study of "Sawyer, Maine" (a pseudonym)…

Rural and Urban Images: Voices of Girls in Science, Mathematics, and Technology was a 3-year project that began in fall 1995 with a group of sixth-grade girls and followed the same girls through eighth grade. The project took place in two West Virginia counties, but this videotaped documentary features its implementation in rural McDowell County…

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…

Sixteen graduates of rural high schools were interviewed and asked to describe specific interactions with adults during their high school days that had significantly affected their thoughts about themselves or their future. Brief discussions examine the reasons that teachers have an impact on rural adolescents, what constitutes a "rural"…

Questionnaire data gathered from 142 high school students in a rural Montana town were used to identify the sources of influence in setting occupational and educational goals and to analyze the amounts of information transmitted from various categories of significant others. Results showed that for both occupation and education, peers and,…

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…

A process model which included the influences of social origin, encouragement, and the formation of adolescent period attitudes as antecedents of early marital and fertility behavior was constructed and evaluated using three-wave panel data obtained from 176 nonmetropolitan females from selected Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina high…