Parents' aspirations for their children's education and vocations as measured by a sample of Virginia families

This investigation is a study of educational and vocational goals of a selected sample of rural youth; relationship of the parents' goals for their children to the childrens' goals; and a study of the relationships of sex, farm residence, membership in certain youth organizations, and level of living to these goals.

Subjects were 49 ninth and tenth grade boys and girls and their parents, living in the Appalachian region of Virginia. The sample of families were chosen by criteria for selection of youths rather than parents. According to student classification types 24 were boys, 25 were girls; 26 were members of the 4-H Club, Future Farmers or Future Homemakers of America; 19 were classes in the high, 21 in the middle, and 9 in the low level of living groups; and 20 lived on farms.

Schedules relating to vocational and educational goals were administered to the students and their parents. Parents were asked to complete the questionnaire as they hoped their ninth or tenth grade child would answer.

Results of the data collected revealed that plans for a college education were higher for girls, for non-farm, non-membership, and higher level of living youths. Most students had not decided what to study in college; and home economics and agriculture ranked low in popularity for high school and college. Educational and vocational goals of the youths were lower than their parents' goals for them, and there was often conflict between goals of parents and children.