According to sociological rational choice theory, students' class-specific educational decisions at key transition points significantly contribute to educational and social inequalities. Yet, while theory missed to clearly accentuate all relevant actors' influences on students' decisions, research generally failed to adequately empirically account…

The purpose of this study was to explore the postsecondary educational and occupational expectations of work-bound rural youth. Three groups of work-bound youth were identified (work-bound, work-bound with future educational plans, and work-bound but unsure/undecided about postsecondary education), and each group was compared to college-bound…

Increasing numbers of students expect to attend college after high school (U.S. Department of Education 2006). This set of Issue Tables, the second in a series examining students' preparation for college, draws on data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:02) to highlight postsecondary expectations and plans among the senior class of…

Includes "The Family: Ultimate Arbiter of Workforce Education Reform" (Gray); "Reaction to Way and Rossman's Family Contributions to Adolescent Readiness for School-to-Work Transition" (Stewart); "Using Structural Equation Modeling and Path Analysis for Advancing Conceptual and Theoretical Positions" (Rojewski); and "Response to Stewart, Gray and…

This exploratory study sought to compare the characteristics, attitudes and postsecondary knowledge of two groups of Indiana ninth grade students, those who plan to continue their education after high school and those who indicate that they are undecided about their post secondary plans. The study used data from a longitudinal study of college…

This paper presents a profile of Hispanic mothers who work and/or study, based on interviews in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey. Particular focus is placed upon occupational and educational aspiration, as well as on the cultural and economic conditions which shape them. Data for Hispanic mothers are presented with similar data for Black and…

This paper examines rural high school students' educational and occupational expectations and their relationships to personal, educational, school, and family characteristics. Questionnaires were distributed to all 10th and 12th graders in four small rural high schools in diverse geographic regions of Ohio. Almost all of the 491 respondents were…

Examines the gender-specific strategies that 30 African-American high school students developed to remain academically successful and traces their success to participation in an educational reform program, family culture, and the culture of the communities in which they lived. (SLD)

This research program examined the effects of schooling on 10 student outcomes selected as indicators of labor market success: four academic test scores (verbal, qualitative, science, and civics); two measures of career expectations (educational and occupational expectations); three attitudinal factors (self-esteem, work values, and sense of…

A study of the high school experiences and performance of Asian Americans found them to be performing well in school, with average test scores in math and science as high as those of White students. The data showed the Asian Americans to be more committed to academic excellence. Compared to other students, they took more academic courses, spent…

Analyzes data from a national sample of 10,415 high school seniors. Reports the effects on educational and occupational aspirations of socioeconomic status, number of siblings, number and gender of parents, and urbanness and the effect of urbanness on parental expectations. Contains 32 references and 9 data tables. (SV)

The objective of this study is to examine factors influencing student achievement in Greece at the end of secondary schooling with special emphasis on the national examination, based on which selection in higher education is determined. The identification of these factors and their hierarchical contribution to achievement is investigated in a…

This study examined a longitudinal data set (9th through 12th grade students from Indiana) to pose questions about the importance students place on certain college and university attributes as part of their college choice process. Using factor analysis, analysis of variance, and discriminant analysis on data about a representative sample of 110…

Social honor--or status--in the school and larger community, and selected aspects of traditional Polish-culture maintenance, are important factors relating to Polish-American ethnicity in the school. This is demonstrated using data collected by questionnaire and participant observation in an urban Roman Catholic secondary school in the American…

Profiles African-American students scoring above 600 on mathematics and verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) sections. The following were examined for 334 students in 1981, 465 in 1985, and 695 in 1988: (1) students' academic experiences; (2) family backgrounds; (3) goals and expectations; and (4) anticipated needs in college. (SLD)