A survey of 150 poor rural students in grades 4-8 revealed that age is relevant in choosing role models, that there are major gender differences in the types of glamour figures selected as role models and as simple figures of success, and that age and gender appear to affect youth's perceptions of success and their occupational choice. (LP)

Project S-114 (1977-1983) consisted of three objectives which dealt with rural Southern youth and focused on educational and occupational aspirations and attainment results for males and females, blacks and whites. Each objective involved utilization of a distinct dataset. In 1979 Objective 1 was completed; the fourth wave of a longitudinal panel…

Research objectives were to determine the extent to which ethnic variability existed in reference to male and female: occupational aspirations (type, level, and intensity); occupational expectations (type, level, and certainty); and anticipatory goal deflection. Data were derived from surveys of the following rural youth (high school sophomores)…

The purpose of this comparison was to examine qualitative differences between male and female occupational aspirations to better understand similarities and/or differences in level of aspiration. Selected samples of students (3,123) and mothers (425) from 2 regional research projects constituted the source of data. Respondents were from low income…

Some of the more significant responses to a questionnaire on educational and occupational aspirations and expectations which was administered to a statewide sample of sophomores, juniors, and seniors in 30 rural high schools by the Department of Rural Sociology at Washington State University were presented in this report. A principal objective of…

Reviews research revealing the failure of Maine's rural youth to achieve and aspire to postsecondary education. Outlines development of a statewide business-education partnership--the Maine Aspirations Compact--and a university outreach program--the University of Maine's Aspirations Project--to help Maine's children fulfill their potential.…

If youth employment programs for rural areas are to be successful in helping rural youth to find employment that is both desirable and developmental, the diversity of ability, skills, needs, life goals, and particular circumstances of these young people must be taken into consideration. According to a 1976 study by Kuvlesky and Edington, there is…

Research objectives were to present and analyze a causal model of educational attainment and to include with parental socioeconomic status the number of siblings as an intervening social origin variable impacting on attitudes and attainment. Data were obtained from a three-wave longitudinal study (1966, 1968, and 1972) of 221 white nonmetropolitan…

The major purpose of this paper is to provide information about occupational status orientations of Negro youth through analysis of data obtained from a recent study of high school sophomores residing in Texas. The specific objective of the research was to explore rural and urban differences among Negro boys on the following aspects of…

A study was conducted in Logan County, Oklahoma, among rural disadvantaged high school students whose families' total income was $4,000 annually or below. The objectives of the study were: (1) to determine whether the source of family income, public or non-public assistance, had an effect upon academic performance of students from the same…

Examines how well structural and social psychological variables explain occupational aspirations of 447 rural, low-income southern youth during preadolescence, adolescence, and young adulthood (contacts were made in 1969, 1975, and 1979). Finds results vary from Ginsburg's theory of three stages with occupational expectations declining rapidly…

A study examined the relationship between medical students' background and their attitudes toward being trained or working as doctors in rural areas. Surveys of 97 first-year medical students at an Australian university indicated that students from rural backgrounds were more willing than urban students to be trained and to work in rural areas.…

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…

This report presents questionnaires that were used in three phases of a longitudinal study of career aspirations and attainments among low income youth and of their mothers' aspirations for them. The subjects were interviewed in 1969, when they were in the fifth and sixth grades, in 1975, and in 1979. Participants were members of three low income…

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,…