This paper examines the relationships between high school curriculum (academic, general, and vocational) and students' occupational and educational aspirations in rural schools. The study was conducted in Ohio and then replicated in Southwest Georgia. In Ohio, 767 predominantly white rural senior students completed a questionnaire and the…

The deterioration of industries in rural America in the 1980s has placed rural youth in a difficult situation. Those who remain in rural areas face a scarcity of good jobs, while those who leave face competition for employment against better-educated metropolitan youth. A study was conducted to: (1) examine the educational experiences of both…

Questionnaire data gathered from 142 high school students in a rural Montana town were used to identify the sources of influence in setting occupational and educational goals and to analyze the amounts of information transmitted from various categories of significant others. Results showed that for both occupation and education, peers and,…

MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF RURAL YOUTH. THE CURRICULUM WAS DESIGNED TO EMPHASIZE THE TRANSFER PROGRAMS OF STUDENTS TO FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES. HOWEVER, FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II, THE COLLEGE EXPANDED CURRICULUM OFFERINGS IN THE TWO YEAR TERMINAL AND VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL AREAS OF EDUCATION, AND…

The primary objective of this study was to determine the educational needs of non-college bound rural high school students in the Quincy school district and to make the information available to the administration and board members of the district with general recommendations for curriculum change. The project consists of two separate parts: (1)…

This report examines the factors that influence the postsecondary enrollment and persistence of rural Pennsylvania students, compared to students from urban and suburban areas. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 provided data on 216 rural, 103 urban, and 323 suburban high school graduates from Pennsylvania. Depending on their status…

REAL Enterprises, Inc. (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) is an academic program that helps students learn the basics of starting and nurturing a new business. West Virginia is 1 of 17 states offering the program with the goal of preparing youth to take advantage of economic opportunities in their own communities. (LP)

The nonmetropolitan dropout rate fell sharply, 1975-93, closing the nonmetro-metro gap. National longitudinal data on dropout risk factors related to family, community, and local labor market reveal that low parental education and income are the greatest barriers to reducing rural dropouts. High school students had unrealistic educational and…

Stresses the importance of developing rural education initiatives that address the changing workforce in rural areas and the accompanying need for career preparation beyond high school. Describes a program at Edinboro University (Pennsylvania) that prepares rural high school students for career decision making and builds connections between rural…

Surveys of 11th- and 12th-grade students from rural schools in 21 states and their parents and teachers revealed significant coefficients of concordance among the three groups' expectations for adulthood. While aspirations for personal and economic success were highly prized, community-minded goals for civic responsibility were ascribed far less…

Gifted females have less frequently sought high-prestige and high-income careers due to a number of barriers. Some barriers are related to society's expectations of women, and others are related to the workplace itself. The most limiting and pervasive barrier is "sex role socialization's impact on the child's developing self-belief system"…

Capstone for a Competitive Edge Summer Camp--1989 was a pilot program formed with input by business and industry, rural vocational educators, and the rural advisory council in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Center for Vocational Education. The program's primary intent was to meet the needs of rural vocational…

This report describes an inquiry into the work attitudes and career decision making skills of 754 sophomores in seven rural and one urban high school in Maine. The study is the first part of a planned 7-year longitudinal study that will interview these students again when they are seniors and then again 5 years later. The eight papers in the…

The Catalyst Training Package was developed by project On The Other Hand, a 16-month project which used two rural Vermont high school districts to field test materials focused on educating youth to reach their full potential, and the roles of men and women in society. Three basic strategies were used to improve educational equity in rural high…

The study contributed to further understanding of the educational and occupational aspirations of Louisiana rural seniors during 1968 and 1972 and of rural seniors from throughout the United States and the South in 1972. Of the variables used, i.e., time, location, sex, and race, two variables were significant on levels of aspiration time and…