A sample of 725 out of 3,241 incoming freshmen to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) were administered the University New Student Census (UNSC) to determine a group profile for 1990. A selection of basic statistics included the following: (1) 53% of the incoming freshmen were male, and 71% were white; (2) approximately 20% had an A or…

The relationship between community college transfer students' experiences at an urban, doctoral-granting commuter university and their enrollment intentions was studied using Bean and Metzner's conceptual model of attrition for nontraditional students. Of 300 community college transfer students at a state-supported urban university who were…

Characteristics of entering freshmen at the University of South Carolina (USC) Columbia campus are compared for 1975, 1980, and 1985. For each year, over 2,000 students completed a questionnaire prepared by the American Council on Education. National norms for public universities are provided for 1985, along with comparative data for the 1985…

Examination of the first two graduating classes of students who had attended suburban Chicago's School District 151 (which was the first Northern school district to be desegregated by court order after desegregation was ordered in 1968) revealed that black students, whether from desegregated or from all-black elementary schools, enter high school…

Attributions for school success and failure were examined among 112 Native American and 99 Anglo students at a large, urban multi-campus community college system in the Southwest, by using the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale. All subjects were in remedial reading classes; 48% were male and 52% were female. Mean age was 24.1,…

The enactment of ESEA Title I in 1965, resulting in a flood of new programs, provided fertile grounds for doctoral dissertation research on the education of the disadvantaged. The ERIC/IRCD staff, believing that much could be learned about doctoral research itself, about children, and about educational programs, decided to attempt to provide…

A study examined rural students' academic aspirations and expectations, their perceptions of their parents' aspirations and expectations, and their parents' actual aspirations and expectations. Surveys were completed by 3,733 seventh grade-students in 54 schools in 17 West Virginia counties. Parent response rates were lower, with approximately two…

Patterns of history and culture help define the path one finds acceptable and follows. In Tremont, Maine, out-migration coupled with the influx of summer visitors has helped create a culture that undercuts students' appreciation of their own abilities and diminishes their aspirations to postsecondary education. Maine students in the "high…

A survey sampling Kentucky secondary school juniors and seniors identified disadvantaged and/or handicapped students, their characteristics and attitudes toward vocational education, and their educational and occupational aspirations compared to vocational program enrollments. While survey data compared with data from other sources show some…

Presents objectives, methodology, and results from a binary model that studies data from a 1987 nationwide survey of high school students taking the Test of Economic Literacy (TEL). Links current economics class performance to perceived usefulness of additional economics courses. Advocates curriculum reassessment. Includes tables showing results.…

In a national sample of 10,416 high school seniors, rural students had lower educational and occupational aspirations than urban or suburban students, but rural students' aspirations were consistent with the perceived expectations of their parents and teachers. (SV)

Summarizes social conditions along the border between Mexico and the United States, with particular attention to conditions around Laredo (Texas), and presents 1993 survey results that measured the educational and lifestyle aspirations of 251 secondary students in schools surrounding Laredo. Results reveal a large majority had optimistic attitudes…

Among 450 high school seniors surveyed in Lambayeque province, Peru, 68% planned to apply for university admission, despite a low rate of acceptance. Students had unrealistic expectations of future employment benefits derived from higher education, and rural students and those from less educated families had less realistic attitudes than their…

This workshop for Tennessee adolescents emphasizes the importance of attitude/discipline and the necessity for youth to plan their lives, and to have a dream and work to make it come true. Participants include two University of Maryland (Baltimore) students, who discuss going to college, and one university official. (SLD)

Explores female and male students' attitudes toward school work in terms of application and achievement, using data from interviews with students, teachers, careers officers, and welfare officers in three semirural public schools in England. Results suggest a problem of "equalizing opportunities" for all young people, rather than…