This ERIC Digest reports on the educational aspirations of rural youth compared with students living in urban and suburban areas. Research indicates that in comparison to urban youth, rural young people felt their parents were much more supportive of their taking full-time jobs, attending trade schools, or entering the military rather than…

A study that compared occupational attainment before and after adult education shows that economic background and participation in education as an adult does not help blacks attain better jobs as much as it helps whites. Thus, the occupational attainment of blacks is not significantly related to their participation in education after age 25. The…

This paper suggests that "Hispanic" populations are a diverse category. An undifferentiated comparison of the groups only creates a comparative "ecological" fallacy, which contributes to the creation of stereotypes rather than understanding. Each population must be placed within its appropriate historical, regional, and…

An ethnographic study was conducted to determine what happens when teachers are placed in schools in which the students' cultural background differs dramatically from their own. Participants were five student teachers completing their internship in a low socioeconomic school in Tallahassee, Florida. Three methods were used to collect data:…

The relationship between scores on the cognitive domain of the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) and scores on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (SBIT), Fourth Edition, was studied for 32 urban, low socioeconomic status (SES), African American children (22 males and 10 females) aged 3 to 5 years. The BDI is a developmental inventory…

This report provides information on the relationships among students and community characteristics, fiscal and educational resources, and student outcomes at the school-division level. Data from the 1989-90 Outcome Accountability Project include 50 indicators of division-level student outcomes. The factors related to these outcomes were examined…

This report examines the current demographics of American families and households and how today's families differ from those of the past. Of special interest to educators are those tables providing data concerning children under age 18, i.e., school age children. Specific data from the years 1950, 1970, and 1990 include: (1) the numbers of U.S.…

This study examined the prevalence and impact of student attitudes tolerant toward or supportive of sexual aggression including date rape on college campuses. Data for the study come from the 1985 and 1989 Freshman Surveys involving a total of 89,070 male and female college students. Among the findings were the following: (1) students who oppose…

A discussion of the current status and future of Celtic languages in the United Kingdom looks at the social and linguistic history of the languages, problems facing the community of Celtic language users, specific tensions and relationships, implications for reform of social policy, and the role of formal language planning, legislation, and key…

The purpose of the study was to identify maternal child rearing practices and socioeconomic factors that promote young children's school readiness and achievement. The subjects were 68 children enrolled in kindergarten through third grade at The Florida State University Developmental Research School and their mothers. The mothers completed the…

The issue of grade retention and social promotion is still a very controversial topic. The empirical literature assessing the effectiveness of nonpromotion remains mixed. Nonpromotion seems most effective with students in white, suburban, and middle-class school districts. This paper describes a 4-year follow-up to an earlier controlled study by…

This paper addresses the conditions of families in Ankara, Turkey, who live in gecekondus (hastily built homes of the poor). The socioeconomic and educational disadvantages of these families result in continuous academic underachievement for their children. Ecological and educational interventions for breaking the poverty cycle are proposed.…

This study examined the occupational perspectives and preferences of 178 students (ages 9-14 ) from three urban schools; one in a high socioeconomic area; the second in a lower socioeconomic stratum with parents in white and blue collar jobs; and the third in a low-income industrial area where most parents lived in subsidized low-income housing…

This study examines patterns of student attrition and retention in the Omaha (Nebraska) Public Schools (OPS). The following dropout characteristics were studied: (1) low socioeconomic status (SES); (2) minority group membership; (3) low achievement test scores; (4) low academic grades; (5) enrollment in a nonacademic (vocational or general) high…

This follow-up study of 1988 graduates of Detroit (Michigan) public high schools examines the status of graduates one year following graduation. Information was gathered from a survey and correlated with demographic and achievement information from student records. Findings must be interpreted in light of a 24 percent response rate to the survey,…