This paper follows recent scholarship in youth studies in suggesting that young people's aspirations for the future are deeply enmeshed within a social, cultural, and economic articulation of what constitutes a "good" life that an individual ought to orient toward. It uses Ahmed's (2014) notion of "wilfulness" to consider how…

In this study, six Latina students shared perceptions of their parental influence on their educational aspirations. CRT, LatCrit, and community cultural wealth provide the tripartite framework for analyzing issues of race, class, gender, language, culture, and immigration by examining their roles in society through counterstories. Learning in an…

Inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs) (where STEM is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) admit students on the basis of interest rather than competitive examination. This study examines the central assumption behind these schools--that they provide students from subgroups underrepresented in STEM with experiences that equip them…

This correlational study samples twelfth grade (senior) students in one central Midwest high school and examines their participation in credit-based transition programs and their changes in educational aspirations. Surveys and community college data are used to collect quantitative data to address six research questions. Using Hossler and…

Changes in educational projections among rural Louisiana high school youths in 1968 and 1972 were examined. A proportionate, stratified, random cluster sampling technique was used to sample students from 20 schools in 4 geographical areas representing different social and economic characteristics. Data were collected by an 18-page version of the…

This study examined how a group of 20 Chicana high school seniors made decisions about college. The majority of Chicanas in this study noted that they are not able to rely on their parents as information sources given their parents' lack of familiarity with the college choice process. As a result, these students were not able to receive…

Historical changes reflected in the educational goals of black and white high school seniors in 1966 and 1972 were compared. The five orientation dimensions studied were aspiration, expectation, goal deflection, goal certainty, and goal intensity. Data were collected in the four contiguous Northeast Alabama counties of Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson,…

The relative influence of gender, coursework, affect, and other hypothesized determinants of mathematics achievement among high school seniors was examined, using data from the High School and Beyond (HSB) database. The HSB base-year survey used a multi-stage sampling scheme. Complete data on the variables of this study were available for 16,358…

Using a theory of resiliency, this study provides a Chicana student's perspective of the role of parents in the development of college aspirations. Qualitative interviews with Chicana high school seniors shed light on the different ways these students perceive and come to understand the manner by which their parents influence and shape their…

A survey was conducted in Brownsville, Texas, to identify the educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of Hispanic females and to determine whether these expectations and aspirations differed from those of the dominant culture. Survey instruments were distributed to all senior females (N=853) in local high schools, requesting…

The study explored the importance of parent-child rapport as it pertained to the child's career development in the context of rural Ontonagon County, Michigan. Questionnaires were self-administered to 201 high school seniors (100 boys and 101 girls) in the spring of 1974. Information was gathered on a wide range of topics dealing with the…

Data derived via questionnaire from a black and white female subsample (N=1,670) of Louisiana high school seniors were utilized to test eight hypotheses which addressed the relationship between athletic participation and female achievement orientations. School type (public-parochial), residence (rural-urban), and school size (large-small) were…

Using data obtained from recent cross-national and longitudinal studies, the link between family influences and the traditional patterns of school achievement were assessed in terms of rural educational mobility and sex differentials within the context of the "sponsored" system of Norway's schools and the "contest" system…

Develops an attitude formation model for the occupational and educational goals of disadvantaged African-American students, and tests it for 175 African-American male and female twelfth graders in an urban school district in New Jersey. Discusses variance in student attitudes, sex differences, and the marginalization of African-American urban…

This paper explores the impact of single-parent families on adolescent females and their aspirations for the future. The study, taking data from the national longitudinal High School and Beyond (HSB) study, uses a stratified weighted national sample of 4,573 black and white high school senior females in the class of 1980. The sample includes girls…