Gender Differences in the Educational and Vocational Aspirations of Rural Youth

• In Event: Does Gender Still Matter in Student Motivation? How, Why, for What, and for Whom?

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, rural communities within the United States have experienced significant economic and social changes. Traditional rural occupations in the manufacturing, farming, and service sectors are declining, and few employment opportunities are available for college-educated adults. Many talented youth are leaving their rural communities to seek educational and occupational opportunities in metropolitan communities. Yet limited research has examined how changes in rural ecologies may be reflected in the educational and vocational aspirations of rural youth, males and females, as they prepare for the transition to adulthood.

Meece and her colleagues will report on research examining individual and contextual influences on the educational and vocational aspirations of over 8000 rural high school youth. An important goal of this research was to examine the unique contributions of rural ecologies to gender and ethnic differences in youth’s motivation to pursue educational and vocational goals. Fifty percent of the sample (51% female) attended schools in rural remote locations, and White students (70%) were the largest ethnic group, followed by youth who identified themselves as multiracial (13%), African American (8%), or Latino/a (7%). Drawing on an ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1977), the study examined the influence of multiple interrelated developmental systems, including individual characteristics, the family system, and schooling experiences. The measures of youth attainment examined were educational and vocational aspirations. Educational aspirations were defined as the level of education youth desired to attain, whereas open-ended vocational aspirations were coded for the minimal level of education required as well as gender traditionality (percent of same-sex gender employed in occupation). For the purposes of this presentation, the focus is on the role of key motivational variables (perceptions of academic competence and school valuing) as well as measures of individual, family, and school influences.

The results revealed gender differences in rural adolescents’ educational and vocational aspirations. Consistent with prior research (Elder & Conger, 2000; Chenoweth & Galliher, 2004), girls when compared to boys, aspired to higher levels of education, careers requiring more education, and nontraditional careers for their gender. In terms of family influences, parental expectations for education had the strongest influence on all outcome measures examined. With family income controlled, few ethnic or racial differences in the aspiration measures emerged. However, lower educational and vocational aspirations were reported by youth with strong attachment to a rural lifestyle, more positive perceptions of local economic opportunities, and residential aspirations to remain close to their home community. Finally, consistent with expectancy-value motivation frameworks, self-reports of academic competence and school valuing (importance of school for future) were significant predictors of educational and vocational aspirations. These findings emerged with the influence of all other variables controlled, including family income, which is one of the strongest predictors of educational and vocational aspirations among rural youth. The study also identified unique influences (residential aspirations, rural identity, and perceptions of economic opportunity) that need to be considered in studies of rural youth. The results will be discussed in relation to other studies focusing on gender differences in educational and vocational attainment.

Authors

• Judith L. Meece, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Karyl Jacqueline Shand Askew, University of North Carolina

• Soo-yong Byun, The Pennsylvania State University

• Bryan C. Hutchins, Center for Developmental Science