In this paper, we exploit a rich longitudinal data set to explore the forces that, during high school, shape the development of aspirations to attend university and achieve academic success. We then investigate how these aspirations, along with grades and other variables, impact educational outcomes such as going to university and graduating. It…

In this international, longitudinal study, we explored gender differences in, and gendered relationships among, math-related motivations emphasized in the Eccles (Parsons) et al. (1983) expectancy-value framework, high school math participation, educational aspirations, and career plans. Participants were from Australia, Canada, and the United…

In Manitoba's Seven Oaks School Division, all 3,000 high school students have a teacher advisor who spends an hour a week with them throughout their four years in high school, knows them as individuals, knows their families, and acts as an academic and life coach. Advisors help students complete their first high school course registration and they…

The study reviewed in this paper examined the impact of offering financial aid informational materials on the postsecondary expectations of high school students. Approximately 5,000 students from five low-achieving high schools in Ontario, Canada, were invited to complete an online survey about their postsecondary aspirations. About 1,600 students…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its companion projects serve colleges and universities committed to monitoring and improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. While participating institutions receive detailed customized reports, the "Annual Results" series presents noteworthy aggregate findings from the…

Data from ESL students' records in Vancouver are examined in the light of the BC Ministry of Education's claim that ESL high school students are more successful than students whose first language is English. We argue that the academic achievement of well-to-do students whose parents are skilled workers or entrepreneurs may mask the completion…

In 2015, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collected responses from more than 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 585 bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. This report presents selected NSSE results from students at 541 U.S. institutions or subsets of that group where…

This guide has been developed as a resource to be used by and with youth in grades 9-12 and beyond. It will help them consider the following questions: What am I good at? How do I know my options? Should I take a year off or apply for some post-secondary program? Structured around the newly designed High School Students tab on the Alberta Learning…

This study examined patterns of help-seeking for educational and career planning issues in a sample of 483 students in grades 11-12 from two schools in southern Ontario. Although counsellors were the most common source of support for educational issues, very few students sought their assistance for career issues, choosing to turn to family members…

School contextual effects are found to be minimal, while parental expectations, family socioeconomic status, and school peer group account for more variance in aspirations. (KR)

One of a series of studies based on data collected from 1,844 high school students in Canada, this study examined twelfth graders who indicated plans for some post high school training. The study focused on the educational plans of 541 rural and suburban students and the sociological factors relating to the realization of these plans the following…

Black Canadians share many aspects of the historical experiences of African Americans, but there are also important differences. One similarity between these two groups is the persistent academic underachievement of Black adolescents. Although this is a subject of widespread concern in both countries, it has received little empirical scrutiny in…

The first in a series of 4 studies based on data collected from 1,844 high school students in Canada, this study examined eleventh and twelfth grade students from 2 rural Manitoba sample areas and from 2 large suburban high schools in metropolitan Winnipeg. This study focused on the educational and occupational aspiration levels and 10 selected…

One of a series of studies based on data collected from 1,844 eleventh and twelfth grade students in Canada examined educational and occupational aspiration levels of youth relative to selected school-related factors. Rural and suburban youth were compared. An attempt was made to assess the utility of the variables as predictors of aspiration…