This research uses Sen's capabilities approach to examine two central questions: "how do female graduates, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, achieve their academic and career-related post-secondary goals?" and "how do personal, social and environmental factors contribute to or inhibit their post-secondary goal achievement?" Individual…

The Constitution of Ukraine mandates that the complete secondary education be compulsory. While women have access to free secondary education in prisons, this constitutional requirement is not enforced across all prisons. Furthermore, higher education is not easily accessible in prison and is further fraught with challenges post incarceration.…

Background: There is widespread agreement that participation in post-compulsory physics needs to be widened and increased, particularly among women and under-represented communities. This paper contributes to understanding of the processes that produce unequal participation, Methods: The paper undertakes a Bourdieusian analysis of longitudinal…

National studies indicate that units and level of rigor in mathematics coursework are the strongest predictors of college enrollment. However, for young Black women there are often structural barriers impeding access to rigorous mathematics coursework, potentially impinging on postsecondary enrollment. In the present study the authors analyze the…

The chance of a secondary education for young girls who might have otherwise been among many out-of-school youth cultivates aspirations for their future. While aspirations to be educated expand the possibilities of opportunities, they also go unfulfilled in an environment of low achievement rates, high unemployment and constraining gender norms…

Adolescent girls' and their mothers' expectations for their daughters' college attainment, mother-daughter communication about education, and daughters' early childbearing attitudes were examined in 146 U.S.-raised Latina girls (mean age = 14.4 years) and their mostly immigrant mothers. Through structural equation modeling, we…

This article examines gender gaps in academic performance (grades in mathematics and reading) between boys and girls of ninth-grade elementary schools in the Czech Republic. Our analysis is based on 2003 data from the Programme for International Student Assessment, encompassing the academic performance and family background of ninth-grade pupils.…

Women remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at all levels of higher education, which has become a concern in the competitive global marketplace. Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, this dissertation sought to learn more about how the campus climate and self-concept influence the degree…

Sociologists of education have explored the relationship between students' postsecondary aspirations and their propensity to get "cooled out" in community colleges. However, researchers have directed little attention to students whose aspirations remain stable over long periods of time or to the different roles that college degree goals…

Two-year colleges have played an important role in providing postsecondary education for women in postwar Japan. More recently, a dwindling college-bound population in Japan has resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of and enrollment in 2-year colleges. This study explored the motivations and aspirations of 12 Japanese female students to…

Data from three studies were analyzed to determine effects of participation in secondary vocational education on subsequent labor market experiences and postsecondary educational experiences. The data were from the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) of Labor Market Experience, New Youth Cohort, and high school transcripts of a subsample of the NLS…

Examines challenges faced by female students at Nairobi universities and postsecondary training institutions, using questionnaires administered to students of both sexes and interviews of male and female education officers. All groups named financial constraints, strict teenage pregnancy policies, inadequate girls' school resources, low…

Women who had been out of the educational system for some time and who had returned to a variety of college situations were interviewed in depth regarding their reasons for returning and the degree to which the colleges were meeting their needs as returning students. From the interview data, discussions with women's reentry program staff, and a…

A study documented the expectations, experiences, and needs of eight women who entered education via Fresh Start/Return to Study courses and followed them as they moved on to further study/training. (Fresh Start was a project of the Inner London Education Authority.) A series of interviews was conducted between June 1985 and October 1986 in an…

Discusses a study using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 to explore patterns of postsecondary education. Describes the sample, the methodology, and the findings in terms of students' educational aspirations, college attendance, academic aptitude, family background, sex, race, and academic achievement. (AYC)