Reports results of three gender expectations questions added to the Monitoring the Future Project questionnaires of 1977, 1983, and 1989, which were administered to high school seniors nationally. Findings from white rural teens indicate that their gender role expectations were changing but lagged behind social and economic realities. Males held…

In interviews, the 16 graduating seniors in Meadville, Missouri, expressed a preference for a small-town lifestyle, but had doubts about their town's viability. Discusses their educational and occupational aspirations. An insert describes youth programs sponsored by the Farmers Electric Co-op. (JAT)

Investigated the attitudes and concerns of middle school students in four rural school districts to determine if their worries were the same as those of urban youth. Found similarities between the two groups, suggesting that rural areas are not as isolated from urban problems as they seem. Results suggest the need for relevant education programs.…

This study of seven gifted female first-year college students (three African-American and four Euro-American) who had graduated from public high schools in rural south Georgia investigated their perceptions of their gifted programs in elementary and secondary school. Three data sources were used: a self-report participant questionnaire, follow-up…

Seventeen adolescents from four rural high schools in upstate New York were interviewed while in the 12th grade and again a year later. Interviews focused on student perceptions of their community, school, and social life; values; and future plans. All participants graduated from high school, and most went on to college or moved to another…

A revised form of the Scale of Children's Attitudes Toward Handicaps (SCATE), which provides a breakdown of attitudes toward specific disabilities, was administered to 332 children in grades 2 through 6. The SCATE was shown to be reliable. The ranking of most positive attitudes to least was: nonhandicapped, learning disabled, hearing impaired,…

Describes the results of survey of 1,100 grade 5, 8, and 11 students to determine their knowledge of and attitudes toward world affairs. Notes that age, sex, and class were the most important correlates and that children were only marginally more knowledgeable about domestic politics than international affairs. (SB)

This paper examines rural conditions from three perspectives: education, demographics, and economics from national, state and regional data sources; Rural Attitude Survey data from students at Western Carolina University in the Appalachian mountain region; and concerns of teachers about education in the region derived from focus group discussions.…

Rural and Urban Images: Voices of Girls in Science, Mathematics, and Technology was a 3-year project that began in fall 1995 with a group of sixth-grade girls and followed the same girls through eighth grade. The project took place in two West Virginia counties, but this videotaped documentary features its implementation in rural McDowell County…

A survey of 16 rural students attending college in Perth, Australia, found that all of them felt disadvantaged because of issues specific to their rural status. These issues were emotional, social, and financial or a combination thereof. The emotional and social concerns were loneliness, making new friends, and learning to adjust to an urban…

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.…

Most Americans view small towns and rural areas as ideal places to grow up and raise a family, yet 1990 census data reveal that most rural areas are losing population, particularly the young. Teenagers who live in rural communities are likely to have important insights into this contradiction. Approximately 5,600 students attending 114 rural high…

This document reviews problems related to sexual activity among rural U.S. teenagers, successes and failures of teen sex education programs, and problems and needs specific to rural areas. In a recent poll, 89% of adults favored sex education in the schools and 73% supported making birth control information and contraceptives available in school…

A review of literature and research on rural education in England indicated declining enrollments coupled with severe government restraints on public expenditures are impacting upon the maintenance and orientation of rural English schools. Investigation of research on the education of girls with specific reference to academic achievement and work…

The military orientations of rural East Texas black and white high school students interviewed in 1966 were very similar; those of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan youth also did not differ much. Since then, status projections of Texas youth have been extended by adding a sample of Mexican American sophomores (1966) to compare with the East Texas…