This article examines two Canadian high school work experience programs that focus on rural youth. The first encourages students to consider work in skilled trades, while the second encourages them to become qualified as healthcare aides. Both programs were designed to encourage high school students to explore careers in fields where labor market…

The current study examined associations between organized activity involvement, academic achievement, and problem behavior in a sample of youth from a non-agricultural based rural community (M[subscript age] = 15.26, Age range = 11-19 years, N = 456). Analyses examined whether associations varied as a function of adolescent gender and age.…

This study analyzes videotaped interviews and 407 photographs taken by 20 grade 5 and 6 students in rural New York State to document their science and engineering learning. Aristotle's concept of phronesis or practical wisdom frames the findings and their implications. Key findings indicate that: (1) All 20 children found examples of science and…

This study uses an ecological systems framework to examine how indicators of individual, family, and school contexts are associated with post-secondary educational enrollment among a sample of rural youth. Structural equation modeling allows us to examine both direct and indirect effects of these contexts on school enrollment. Unique elements of…

This study explored how an awareness of psychological acculturation can help faculty to understand rural/Appalachian students' classroom experiences. By using a thematic analysis technique, selections from student journals were identified that captured the perspective of being a rural/Appalachian student adjusting to the new cultural system of a…

This study examined the relationship between end-of-year grades and the academic, behavioral, and social characteristics of rural African American youth. Participants included 392 7th and 8th grade students from 2 rural middle schools in the south. Participants were African American and were from 2 communities that have child poverty rates…

This study explored the social networks and sources of social support for rural high-school adolescents and how these are related to educational and psychological outcomes. We examined quality, frequency. and nature of social relationships of high school students to understand how size, density, heterogeneity, compositional quality of social…

Energy Express is a summer reading and nutrition program for disadvantaged young children in 80 rural West Virginia communities. College student/AmeriCorps mentors support childrens' literacy by creating a print-rich environment, using a place-based curriculum, and providing activities, including a community service project. Two case studies…

Examines the need to help rural youth become employable in today's changing circumstances, especially young adolescents in middle school programs. Discusses elements in effective School-to-Employment (STE) programs, basic job skills appropriate to middle-school exploratory STE programs, and the need for program articulation between middle and high…

Surveys of 11th- and 12th-grade students from rural schools in 21 states and their parents and teachers revealed significant coefficients of concordance among the three groups' expectations for adulthood. While aspirations for personal and economic success were highly prized, community-minded goals for civic responsibility were ascribed far less…

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,…

Surveys of 158 West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy (GHA) students and 644 seniors in rural West Virginia high schools suggest that, compared to the latter, GHA students are less alienated; are not more eager to leave their community; exhibit stronger modern dispositions, but not weaker rustic dispositions; and are equally satisfied with their…

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…

Cites statistics characterizing the growing problems faced by students, such as violence, drug use, declining trust, and cheating. Summarizes the contributions of this issue's articles with regard to the influence of early experience on aspirations, and observes that surveys and interview techniques can enrich understanding of the problems and…

Questionnaire responses of 918 midwestern 8th, 10th, and 12th graders reveal that rural adolescents, especially males, were more likely to experience conflict between career aspirations and future residential preferences than their urban peers. Additionally, rural 10th graders expressing conflicting aspirations were more likely to have lower…