This paper reports the results of a survey of 1349 secondary school students in a rural county in North Carolina. Data are presented on psychological and social problems, self-concept, locus of control orientation, utilization of professional and nonprofessional counseling resources, and the family relationships of the respondents. (Author)

The Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth (SASH-Y) was used to assess acculturation among 137 fourth- and fifth-grade children in rural southern Colorado, including 11 Mexican, 33 Mexican American, and 93 Euro-American children. The SASH-Y, especially questions related to language use, was found to be robust with a young, rural Latino…

The Illinois Rural Life Panel, a sample of approximately 2,000 residents living in Illinois' 76 nonmetropolitan counties, is surveyed annually about various issues. The 1993 survey results are reported in four brief summaries. In the first summary, which discusses health care, panelists indicated dissatisfaction with the current health-care…

This paper reports on attitudes toward welfare and poverty among male and female students at a university in rural eastern Kentucky. The area has high poverty rates and low educational and employment levels, particularly among women. A 60-statement survey covering a wide range of social issues was completed by 390 undergraduates. About two-thirds…

A survey of 163 senior medical students attending a South Australian medical school found that rural students were more likely than urban students to experience stress; be concerned about getting a provider number (license); feel that consultants had little time for them; have made the decision to study medicine without pressure from others; and…

Interviews with 33 teenagers from three small rural Midwest towns examined how they saw themselves, their families, friends, communities, and futures. Interview excerpts illustrate ambivalence about rural experiences, desire to move elsewhere, and Hispanic students' experiences with racism, but also convey positive attitudes about family, friends,…

A shortened and revised Student Aspirations Survey was administered to 1,160 students in rural middle schools and high schools. Evidence of construct validity was considerable for student responses to the aspirations scales and very limited for student responses to the school climate scales. Suggestions for improvement of score interpretation are…

Reviews research showing declining interest in teaching profession. Survey reveals 45.8 percent of rural South Carolina high school students were to some extent interested in teaching. Examines related factors, including students' ability levels, grade and area-type preferences, amount of teacher influences, and perceptions of teacher salaries.…

A questionnaire administered to 288 seventh- through tenth-grade students in 3 rural Oregon school districts revealed students' knowledge concerning the transmission and prevention of AIDS, student attitudes toward AIDS patients, and source of student knowledge; showed improvement over a previous survey of middle school students; and confirms the…

In rural Llanrwst, north Wales, concepts of "traditional community" and local Welsh culture are felt to be threatened by inmigration of "English" outsiders. Interviews with secondary school students illustrate how cultural boundaries are reinforced by school structures and student behaviors and how cultural belonging is…

This study investigates the relationship between postsecondary aspirations and vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, perceived educational barriers, and sources of support among a sample of rural Appalachian high school students. Using Social Cognitive Career Theory as the theoretical framework, vocational/educational…

This paper examines the unique characteristics of rural adolescents raised on farms. As part of a longitudinal study on rural youth development, semistructured interviews were conducted each year for 4 consecutive years with 87 adolescents from 4 rural high schools in upstate New York. This study focused on data from the 19 adolescents who resided…

Despite increasing graduation requirements and the limited vocational offerings in rural schools, many rural high school students still enroll in vocational education courses. This study examined factors influencing the decisions of rural Ohio high school students to select vocational education courses. In spring 1988, an interview and…

In order to investigate the efficacy of a decade-long language arts tutoring program, a study compared students' responses to a survey of their participation in and attitudes about the program with their Reading, Language, Math, and Total scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) and other tests. The tutoring program assigned college students…

A 15-minute reading inventory was administered to 188 students in seven rural districts to assess and compare the reading maturity of the college-bound juniors and seniors in those districts. Results showed that on a leisure reading attitude scale, the college-bound students had an average score of 60 points with 20 being the lowest and 100 the…