Patterns of Educational, Occupational, and Residential Aspirations of Rural Youth: The Role of Family, School, and Community

Research on youth and adolescents increasingly suggests that youths' aspirations are complex, multidimensional constructs. This is especially the case for rural youth, who may face conflicting goals when considering their educational, occupational, and residential aspirations. However, few studies have explored rural youths' aspirations from a MultiDimensional perspective. Using data from the younger cohort of the Rural Youth Education study, this research applies latent class analysis to examine the heterogeneity of rural youths' educational, occupational, and residential aspirations. Five distinct subgroups of youth are identified (1) ambitious stayers (27 percent), (2) ambitious yet uncertain youth (28 percent), (3) typical achievers (13 percent), (4) unambitious movers (8 percent), and (5) typical stayers (24 percent). These five subgroups of youth differ in their aspirations, the certainty of those aspirations, and perceived relationships among aspirations. Subsequent multinomial analysis shows strong associations of family, school, and community characteristics with youths' aspirational profiles. Youth with better family economic resources and good parent-child relationships are more likely to fall into the "typical achiever" category, relative to the other four categories. Understanding the interrelationship of rural youth's aspirations can help policymakers and community members develop strategies to assist rural youth in achieving an array of future goals.