This article employs historical analysis of a unique collection of essays to examine the college aspirations of rural high school students. Although researchers attribute the low educational attainment of this population mainly to poverty and poor school quality, many scholars continue to believe that historically rooted cultural norms and kinship…

Rural areas in many parts of the U.S. experience population decline from outmigration. Geographic mobility has long been a contributing factor to the social and economic instability of rural communities; high-achieving and ambitious youth are inclined to leave rural areas to take advantage of the expansive economic opportunities and cultural and…

A study examined how rural youth perceive leadership and how sense of place affects those perceptions. Interviews and observations of 12 students who participated in a leadership academy in 3 rural Texas high schools indicated that rural adolescents viewed leadership as situational. Teamwork and service were the elements of leadership that…

Working class immigrant youth are frequently more successful in school than nonimmigrant students of similar background if they receive all their schooling in their new homeland. This article explores the forces that allow the children of Punjabi Sikh farm families to succeed academically in spite of severe handicaps. (VM)

Studied self concept, parental influence, socioeconomic status, certainty, race and sex in relation to career choice attitudes in 520 Black, White and Native American rural 10th graders. Results suggested the importance of racial differences in predicting career maturity. (JAC)

Questionnaires were administered to 73 sophomore and senior high school students in 3 isolated rural Alaska towns (Adak, Unalaska, and Dillingham) to study the effects of socio-economic factors on rural Alaskan youth's educational aspirations and expectations. Because of a military-supported economy, Adak was a typical middle class American…

Results of surveys (in 1967, 1973, and 1978-1979) of nonmetropolitan Mexican American high school sophomores from South Texas indicated that, although broad similarities existed between males and females, there were also specific patterned gender differences in social behavior and orientations. In status projection levels, particularly educational…