We consider young children's construals of biological phenomena and the forces that shape them, using Carey's (1985) category-based induction task that demonstrated anthropocentric reasoning in young urban children. Follow-up studies (including our own) have questioned the generality of her results, but they have employed quite different…

Responses were sought to the following questions: (1) Are there differences between self concepts of disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students? (2) Do these differences, if any, occur within and/or among different types of communities? A total of 373 students were selected from Maine communities designated "rural depressed,""rural…

To investigate and compare educational and vocational goals of urban youth from rural and non-rural backgrounds, with each other and with their parents and to explore the effect of sex of child, level-of-living, and family size on these goals, 11 schools were randomly selected from predominantly white junior high schools in cities of at least…

Negro and white rural youth from economically depressed areas of East Central Texas were compared with regard to their job aspirations and expected job attainment. The results indicated that both Negro and white youth had generally high occupational goals and expectations. The Negro youth exhibited a greater variance in occupational choice,…

Utilizing data collected from high school sophomores in 1972 and 1973, the study investigated the religious behavior and orientations of rural Black, White, and Mexican American youth in reference to religious affiliation, church participation, religious self-image (perceptions by peers), religious identification as an impediment to social…

The study determined whether rural students enrolled in vocational programs which were considered to be exemplary for training disadvantaged youth differed in attitudes related to school and work from similar disadvantaged youth not enrolled in vocational studies. Ranging in age from 15 to 19 years, 115 students from 4 on-going vocational programs…

Utilizing responses (a self administered, 15 item questionnaire) of a rural northeastern New England sample of junior high, senior high, and college students, correlation between legal and illegal drug use and perceived self-alienation was examined. Comparison was also made between users and nonusers. Legal users were defined as those who made at…

Self-concepts of adolescents in Germany, Mexico, Chinese in Taiwan, and the U.S.A. were measured with an Osgood type of semantic differential. The American sample included Anglo, Chicano, and Indian high school seniors. The 11 concepts included: attitudinal measures on the self, school, social milieu and other racial groups. The bipolar adjectives…

A longitudinal study conducted in six southern states dealt with four population categories (poor youth, rural youth, black youth, and females) frequently neglected in status aspiration, career goal, and life plans research. The term "life plans" included educational and occupational aspirations as well as expectations of age at…

To determine how well rural youths were adjusting to modern society, a study on educational and occupational aspirations of male high school seniors from two counties in Southwest Arkansas was begun in 1965 and completed in 1972. A major finding in the first stage was that 70% of the 165 seniors (121 Whites, 44 Blacks) overaspired for their…

One of a series of bibliographies on selected topics, this annotated bibliography includes 116 citations on the educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of rural youth. Citations are derived from the ERIC monthly publications "Resources in Education" (RIE) and "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE).…