How Far to Go? Community Influences on Youth Educational Aspirations in Rural, Resource-Dependent Places

Abstract

Rural communities in forested regions across the United States are in the midst of a transformation driven by a complex mixture of economic, policy, and demographic dynamics. This research examines, through survey results, rural youth educational aspirations in two forest-dependent regions and the role that perceptions of the local school, perceptions of community, and views on economic trajectory play in shaping rural youths’ aspirations. Although school perceptions, school and community engagement, grades, and identifying as a girl were positively related to educational aspirations, community perceptions were negatively related. These quantitative findings highlight the contradictory role that higher education may play for those who must choose between education and their families and home and reinforce similar findings from qualitative research on rural youth.

Keywords

• rural youth
• educational aspirations
• school perceptions
• community perceptions
• forest-located communities