In 2016, the GED® introduced college readiness benchmarks designed to identify testers who are academically prepared for credit-bearing college coursework. The benchmarks are promoted as awarding college credits or exempting "college-ready" GED® graduates from remedial coursework. I show descriptive evidence that those identified as…

It is important for students to be successful in their academic lives, both for themselves and their families. Some certain individual obstacles on the path to success can diminish students' achievement as well as their motivation, which is a crucial factor for success. Sometimes parents can be involved in these processes. In this context, the…

Understanding the effect of middle school students' achievement in academic subjects, future education plans, and the similarity between interests and career plans on subsequent college enrollment helps school counselors, teachers, and parents focus on how to assist students in ways that can increase college-going behavior. The goal of this study…

Background: The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is well documented in developed countries, and yet public discussion of gender disparities in STEM in China is still in its nascent stage. Endorsement of traditional gender role beliefs and conformity to social norms are pertinent to…

While much research has examined lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ+) students' high school and college-going experiences, few studies have explored what LGBQ+ students consider during their college choice process. Utilizing Hossler and Gallagher's (1987) three-stage college choice model, this study analyzed 14 semi-structured interviews with…

The main objective of this paper is to examine the role of students' aspirations and expectations in affecting school achievement among 7th and 8th grade students in Qatar's schools. The study draws on data collected in Qatari schools from a randomly selected sample of 841 students and their parents. The findings indicate that students'…

While university participation rates among Indigenous Australians have been on the rise in recent years, parity targets remain elusive. In this context, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how aspirations for higher education are formed and nurtured. Studies tend to focus on barriers to access, often in ways that position Indigenous…

This article offers a new analysis into young people's perspectives towards Welsh-medium study at post-compulsory level. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with twenty-six 15-16-year olds attending a Welsh-medium secondary school in the South Wales Valleys (an area of Wales with a low proportion of Welsh speakers), this article will…

In 2013, an art college in a large Northeastern city in the United States launched the Art College Scholars (ACS) program in response to the growing exclusion of high-achieving, low-income students from higher education, and a need to diversify the pool of art and design school applicants. The 3-year ACS program offers 80 hours of art and design…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career barriers persist for individuals from marginalized communities due to financial and educational inequality, unconscious bias, and other disadvantaging factors. To evaluate differences in plans and interests between historically underrepresented (UR) and well-represented (WR) groups,…

Upward social mobility is often framed in research in ways that may disguise the unique journeys that Women of Color travel in college and as they aspire toward graduate degrees. This assets-based approach to a multisite case study explored how undergraduate Women of Color who aspire toward graduate education viewed the meaning of their potential…

Engagement in research as an undergraduate and the availability of mentorship from peers and professionals are effective strategies for improving retention of students in STEM fields. Undergraduates in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder enroll in one of two large introductory course-based…

Gender gaps in representation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields persist across many societies, although the size of the gap varies. Based on cultural psychological perspectives, we consider how the culturally ascribed meaning and purpose of academic choice (i.e., as a means of expressing the self or securing one's…

Generation Z, individuals born between 1995 and 2010, is projected to soon be the first minority-majority generation in the United States. This generational cohort is attending colleges now and will continue to enter colleges for the next decade. Within the Generation Z population are a large group of the Latinx students who often struggle to meet…

The present study explored the occupational aspirations of school-age children (N = 394) comparing differences by gender, level of intelligence and grade level. Results indicated that girls' aspirations were more realistic, intrinsically motivated, prosocial and inclusive of higher education than those of boys. Moreover, a higher level of…