Educational Aspirations and Attainment of Southern Rural Youth.

In 1965, a youth aspiration study was initiated in six southern states. Data were first collected in 1966 from 10th grade students in selected high schools. In 1968, 12th grade students attending the same schools completed questionnaires. Then, in 1972, a stratified random sample was taken of 1,226 young adults who were previously examined. This paper is a preliminary report on the educational aspiration and attainment data for this regional sample. Attention focused on the nature of change in educational aspiration over the critical period in life from late adolescence to young adulthood. Educational attainment reflected the short-run achievements realized during the first years following the completion of high school. Aspiration as a theoretical construct was not considered; the referent in this instance was restricted to educational goals for which the aspiration serves as an abstract or idealized goal orientation. Within this frame of reference, the paper describes: (1) what happens to educational aspiration during the transition period; and (2) the level of educational attainment at an early point in adult life. Findings revealed that this sample was even more strongly oriented toward college and graduate study after having been out of high school 4 years. Urban white males were most oriented toward these goals; rural white females were the least. Black men and women from both rural and urban backgrounds were substantially equal in their orientation toward college. (KM)