Selected factors influencing the educational decision of vocational and non-vocational high school seniors in small rural school districts in southeast Texas

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the educational aspirations, expectations, and abilities of rural high school seniors who had one or more years of vocational training with those who had no vocational training, and to examine selected factors which may have contributed to, or influenced their educational aspiration/expectation level. Two hundred thirty-one rural high school seniors from six rural school districts in southeast Texas participated in the study. The study was conducted in May of 1976, using a survey instrument personally administered by the researcher to the seniors of the six school districts participating in the study. The survey instrument consisted of four major parts. The first part was to solicit personal information from the respondents. The second part was concerned with obtaining educational data such as the educational level of the parents, educational aspirations and expectations of the students and other data relevant to the educational setting. The third part of the questionnaire was to determine how the students viewed their abilities in 12 educational areas. The fourth and final part was used to determine if the student has been or was taking a vocational course while in school and if so, the type and number of years enrolled..