Educational Barriers of Rural Youth: Relation of Individual and Contextual Difference Variables

Reciprocal links between marijuana use and school adjustment in Black and White rural adolescents

Although research has established that school adjustment is associated with marijuana use (MU) in adolescence, few studies have tested these associations bidirectionally. Using random intercepts cross-lagged panel modeling, this study examined reciprocal associations between MU and school adjustment across 8th to 10th grade, including the transition to high school. Participants included 5470 rural adolescents (59% White, 41% Black) aged 12-17 years in 2002-2005. School adjustment factors predicted subsequent MU (i.e., higher self-reported grades were protective for Black and White youth; valuing education was protective for Black youth; school behavior problems predicted increased MU across the transition to high school for White youth). MU had several adverse effects on school adjustment, particularly during the transition to high school.

Typical school-to-work transitions of young adults with disabilities in Germany - a cohort study of recipients of vocational rehabilitation services after leaving school in 2008

PURPOSE

In Germany, vocational rehabilitation (VR) for young people with disabilities (YPWD) aims to counteract disadvantages on the training and labour markets. However, the school-to-work transitions (STWT) among YPWD are underexplored. This study investigates to what extent and for whom VR provides an institutional bridge into employment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Based on representative administrative data of the German Federal Employment Agency, young people in VR are observed for 6.5 years after completing lower or intermediate secondary education in 2008. Using optimal matching and cluster analysis, six typical STWT trajectories are identified.

RESULTS

Most of the YPWD completed company-external vocational training, some undertook regular in-firm training. These forms of training often lead to regular employment, albeit with a delay for some. Other young people are guided from training in sheltered workshops into sheltered employment. Another group exhibits problematic STWTs in which recurring unemployment and (non-training) programmes fail to lead to training or employment.

CONCLUSIONS

VR combined with in-firm or company-external vocational training can facilitate the STWTs of people with disabilities. However, individuals from poor families are less likely to benefit from VR. Similarly, restricted capabilities and problematic STWTs are observed when young people drop out of VR due to poor cooperation.Implications for rehabilitationVocational training often is a prerequisite for labour market entry; however, if the structural conditions on the local labour market are unfavourable, young people with disabilities do not take up employment.Training within sheltered workshops often leads to highly institutionalised trajectories that should be reconsidered to permit greater permeability into the regular labour market.As young people with problematic STWT more often come from poor households, they should be targeted to a greater extent in the context of VR counselling.

Margaret-Ann Armour and WISEST – an incredible legacy in advancing women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and the work still to do

Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour was a visionary and leader in addressing the issue of gender inclusivity and discrimination in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She was instrumental in creating WISEST — Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology — in 1982, which was one of the first programs in Canada intentionally designed to increase the participation of women and girls in STEM career paths. Since then, this innovative organization has designed several programs featuring hands-on learning and mentoring that reduce barriers and empower people from underrepresented and marginalized groups to pursue education and careers in STEM fields. This review provides a template for WISEST programs, discusses their impact on diversity in STEM, and highlights the work still to be done.

"The Panhandle is Different than the Peninsula": How Rural Colleges in Florida Implemented Education Reform

When it comes to the creation of higher education policy, state legislators are challenged with addressing the diverse academic needs of college students enrolled across a spectrum of institutions. In this paper, we explore how 203 individuals at five rural-serving colleges in Florida engaged in state-wide developmental education (DE) reform using the theoretical framework of "situated cognition." Specifically, we ask whether the colleges implemented DE reform in unique ways that may have differed from their non-rural counterparts and what their rationale was for doing so. Our work indicates that institutional culture and capacity generated a combination of strengths and constraints in how reform played out in a rural context. In some ways, a rural-serving identity made colleges more flexible and better able to adjust their advising and curricular structures to comply with the mandates of SB 1720. But in other ways, rural-serving institutions lacked the resources necessary to adequately support students and campus personnel through this dramatic transition toward new ways of providing DE. In looking toward the passage and implementation of future education reform, we call upon policy-makers to consider more deeply the design of policies to ensure they support rural and non-rural colleges alike.

Adolescents' Future Aspirations and Expectations in the Context of a Shifting Rural Economy

Adolescents' future aspirations and expectations influence the decisions they make as they transition into adulthood. However, less is known about how specific sociocultural factors interact with the formation of future aspirations and expectations and their association with goal attainment in emerging adulthood. The present study begins to fill this gap by using person-centered analysis with high school students (N = 517; 53% female; 92% white) from a rural county undergoing significant economic transition. Its aim was to identify future orientation profiles based on adolescent-reported future aspirations and expectations for success in both education and career. Four latent profiles were identified and labeled: universally high aspirations and expectations; low college aspirations and expectations; lower aspirations than expectations; and universally low aspirations and expectations. Significant gender differences were found. High school males were less likely to be in the universally high profile and more likely to be in the universally low and low college aspirations and expectations profiles. Future orientation profile placement was associated with differences in adolescent experiences in family, school, and community contexts as well as their work and education status and future residential aspirations in emerging adulthood. The findings inform future research and applied efforts focused on rural youth's preparation for adult roles, and on retaining rural youth, a necessity for the vitality of rural communities.

A Qualitative Analysis of Career Choice Pathways of College-Oriented Rural Central Appalachian High School Students

To explore the ways context may shape career choices, we used a qualitative approach to analyze interviews with college-oriented high school students from the rural Central Appalachia region of Virginia. Using social cognitive career theory, we analyzed pathways to career choices and relevant contextual factors, using data from 24 interviews. Results revealed that participants’ pathways partially matched the model, though we also found variant pathways triggered by significant environmental influences and incomplete pathways due to variations in possible career plans. Explanatory factors included status as prospective first-generation college student, outcome expectations that included remaining local and having job stability, and an emergent factor of continuing generation Appalachian. The patterns that emerged with respect to contextual factors and career choice pathways highlight the importance of culture and context when examining how students make career choices. This research extends prior research by examining career pathways using student’s own words as data. Moreover, the patterns offer insights career coaches, counselors, and educators can use in supporting students’ post–high school career planning.

Vocational Psychology: Agency, Equity, and Well-Being

The present review organizes the vocational psychology literature published between 2007 and 2014 into three overarching themes: Promoting (a) agency in career development, (b) equity in the work force, and (c) well-being in work and educational settings. Research on career adaptability, self-efficacy beliefs, and work volition is reviewed in the agency section, with the goal of delineating variables that promote or constrain the exercise of personal agency in academic and occupational pursuits. The equity theme covers research on social class and race/ethnicity in career development; entry and retention of women and people of color in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields; and the career service needs of survivors of domestic violence and of criminal offenders. The goal was to explore how greater equity in the work force could be promoted for these groups. In the well-being section, we review research on hedonic (work, educational, and life satisfaction) and eudaimonic (career calling, meaning, engagement, and commitment) variables, with the goal of understanding how well-being might be promoted at school and at work. Future research needs related to each theme are also discussed.