Influences of High School Location on the Educational Aspirations of Black Students in Ninth Grade

• In Event: Research in Progress Roundtable Session 3
  In Invited Roundtable: Research on Rural Education: Policy, Equity, Student Aspirations, and Mental Health (Table 7)

Abstract

Within the United States, education is placed-based and geographic location is inherently linked to educational access (Calarco, 2018). Yet, geographic location is an aspect of children’s lives that they cannot change. Educational aspirations are internal roadmaps for children’s futures. Clear and ambitious internal roadmaps elevate the chance of educational success and help practitioners and administrators set policy and improve practice. My study utilizes a critical place-based framework to explore the responses of Black and African American students in ninth grade who participated in the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) to determine relationships between high school geographic region (i.e., Northeast, Midwest, South, West), as well as environment (i.e., city, suburb, town, rural), and educational aspirations.

Author

• Regina Ann Lowery, Edgewood College