This qualitative study investigates high-poverty urban high school students' views of and plans regarding higher education, using Bourdieu's theory of reproduction in education as theoretical framework. Interview data from 76 students from six high-poverty urban schools in a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States were analyzed using…

Examined the perceptions of 70 urban and suburban African-American students regarding the influences on their decision making to participate or not participate in higher education. Findings show the importance of racial and cultural considerations and highlight the need for studying students' perceptions. (SLD)

Analyzes African-American and white females' plans for education for 4,573 high school seniors in 1980 from the High School and Beyond Survey. When other factors are controlled, African-American females have plans for higher levels of education, as do females from high-income families and those with mothers with more education. (SLD)