Using two panel studies which collectively covered the preadolescent-to-young adulthood period in the life cycle, the study focused on the issues of level of aspiration formation, stability, and race-sex subgroup invariance. The panel studies collected data from youths from (1) rural areas with towns of 2,500 or less and urban areas with cities of…

Based on comparative data from two 1973 studies, this study examined whether or not the occupational and educational status projections and language usage patterns of Mexican American teenagers living in a large metropolitan area differed from those of teenagers living in isolated, relatively small nonmetropolitan places. The two separate, but…

This report presents detailed procedures and findings of research on Japanese high school seniors, their choice of courses, educational and career expectations and preferences, and the extent to which these attitudes conform to relationships in Japanese labor markets. The appendixes contained in this final volume of the five-unit report include…

This study explored mothers' beliefs about their children's educational and occupational futures, and it examined relationships between mothers' beliefs and children's academic achievement and between mothers' beliefs and maternal perceptions of parental responsibilities. A sample of 141 mothers and their first- or fourth-grade child participated…

The Indiana Youth Poll examined young people's doubts, hopes, and dreams for the future. Participants responded in two ways: they replied as individuals to a short questionnaire and participated in discussions on open-ended questions. Altogether, 1,560 students from 204 of Indiana's public high schools and from 20 of the 293 private high schools…

Twelve women who reentered graduate study/career pursuits were studied to determine their perceptions of self and world, and their relationship to the women's movement of the 1960s. The women were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s and pursued graduate school/career pursuits during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Self-worth achieved by the successful career…

Faculty and medical students' conceptions of an optimal progression toward graduation as defined by academic and psychosocial markers were compared. Twenty-four academic indicators of success or difficulty, primarily examination scores or clerkship evaluations, and 10 other indicators of progress toward graduation were assessed by 23 faculty and…

Postsecondary plans of over 16,000 freshmen and seniors enrolled in Pennsylvania's public and private high schools during 1983-1984 were studied. Attention was directed to the effect of community, school, family, and student personal factors and characteristics that influence student decisions to attend various forms of postsecondary education.…

Educational and vocational plans and changing characteristics of Indiana high school seniors from 1966 to 1980 were studied. In 1966, 1969, 1972, and 1975, questionnaires were mailed to all public and private high schools in the state, while in 1980, a stratefied random sample was used. The response rate of the first four surveys was 54 percent or…

A survey project was conducted from July 1977 through June 1978 to: (1) determine the occupational interests and academic plans of seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh grade Bergen County public and Catholic school students and their parents; (2) determine the perception of Bergen County public school superintendents regarding the status,…

The general objective of this study was to learn the nature of associations for race and sex with several dimensions of educational orientations held by adolescents living in selected all-rural, low-income areas. A secondary objective was to evaluate the general utility of a new multi-dimensional conceptual scheme for the study of status…

In an effort to understand the dynamics of the status attainment process, the effects of significant-other influences were analyzed in terms of sexual and racial differences. Data were derived from a proportionate, stratified, random cluster sample of Louisiana high school seniors. High schools were stratified on the basis of residence…

The main thesis of this study is that the failure of the American Indian to achieve social and economic integration in American society during a century of reservation life, and specifically the failure of the Indian family to prepare its youth to face the competitive expectations of the other social institutions, is directly related to the…

About 62.8 million of the total U.S. population live in the South; of these, about 10% live in the "rural" South. Young people (under 25 years of age) constitute almost half of the total population in the South--29.4 million. Over one-third of all southern people are under 18 years of age. The racial composition of the youth population…

Four hundred sixty-nine high school students in six high schools were surveyed in order to obtain information regarding their postsecondary plans and goals, career preferences, educational/training preferences, and opinions about Roane State Community College. Among the findings revealed by the survey were: (1) an overall trend of increasing…