Rural-Nonrural Disparities in Postsecondary Educational Attainment Revisited

Abstract

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, this study revisited rural-nonrural disparities in educational attainment by considering a comprehensive set of factors that constrain and support youth’s college enrollment and degree completion. Results showed that rural students were more advantaged in community social resources compared to nonrural students, and these resources were associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of bachelor’s degree attainment. Yet results confirmed that rural students lagged behind nonrural students in attaining a bachelor’s degree largely due to their lower socioeconomic background. The findings present a more comprehensive picture of the complexity of geographic residence in shaping college enrollment and degree attainment.

Keywords

rural-nonrural disparities community social resources postsecondary educational attainment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adelman

(2006). The toolbox revisited: Paths to degree completion from high school through college. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/toolbox.pdf

Adelman

Daniel

Berkovits

Owings

(2003). Postsecondary attainment, attendance, curriculum, and performance: Selected results from the NELS:88/2000 postsecondary education transcript study (PETS), 2000 (NCES 2003-394). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Agresti

(2002). Categorical data analysis (2nd ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2010). Current challenges and opportunities in preparing rural high school students for success in college and careers. Washington, DC: Author.

Arnold

M. M.

Biscoe

Farmer

T. W.

Robertson

D. L.

Shapley

K. L.

(2007). How the government defines rural has implications for education policies and practices (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007-No. 010). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs

Attewell

Heil

Reisel

(2011). Competing explanations of undergraduate noncompletion. American Educational Research Journal, 48, 536–559. doi:10.3102/000283121039201810.3102/0002831210392018

Bozick

(2007). Making it through the first year of college: The role of students’ economic resources, employment, and living arrangements. Sociology of Education, 80, 361–385. doi:10.1177/00380407070800030410.1177/003804070708000304

Brandon

(2009, July 14). Investing in education: The American graduation initiative [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/07/14/investing-education-american-graduation-initiative

Brown

D. L.

Schafft

K. A.

(2011). Rural people and communities in the 21st century. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

10.

Coladarci

(2007). Improving the yield of rural education research: An editor’s swan song. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 22(3). Retrieved from http://jrre.psu.edu/articles/22-3.pdf

11.

Coleman

J. S.

(1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(Suppl.), S95–S120. doi:10.1086/22894310.1086/228943

12.

Crockett

L. J.

Shanahan

M. J.

Jackson-Newsom

(2000). Rural youth: Ecological and life course perspectives. In Montemayor

Adams

Gullotta

(Eds.), Adolescent diversity in ethnic, economic, and cultural contexts: Advances in adolescent development (pp. 43–74). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

13.

Curtin

T. R.

Ingels

S. J.

Heuer

(2002). National education longitudinal study of 1988: Base-year to fourth follow-up data file manual (NCES 2002-323). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

14.

Deil-Amen

Turley

R. L.

(2007). A review of the transition to college literature in sociology. Teachers College Record, 109, 2324–2366.

15.

Demi

Coleman-Jensen

Synder

(2010). The rural context and secondary school enrollment: An ecological systems approach. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 25(7). Retrieved from http://jrre.psu.edu/articles/25-7.pdf

16.

Elder

G. H.

Conger

R. D.

(2000). Children of the land: Adversity and success in rural America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

17.

Fan

Chen

M. J.

(1999). Academic achievement in rural school students: A multiyear comparison with their peers in suburban and urban schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 15(1), 31–46.

18.

Flora

C. B.

Flora

J. L.

(2003). Rural communities: Legacy and change. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

19.

Gibbs

(1998). College completion and return migration among rural youth. In Gibbs

R. M.

Swaim

P. L.

Teixeira

(Eds.), Rural education and training in the new economy: The myth of the rural skills gap (pp. 61–80). Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.

20.

Gibbs

(2003). Rural education at a glance (Rural Development Research Report No. 98). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/rdrr98/rdrr98_lowres.pdf

21.

Goldrick-Rab

(2006). Following their every move: An investigation of social-class differences in college pathways. Sociology of Education, 79, 61–79. doi:10.1177/00380407060790010410.1177/003804070607900104

22.

Goldrick-Rab

Carter

D. F.

Wagner

R. W.

(2007). What higher education has to say about the transition to college. Teachers College Record, 109, 2444–2481.

23.

Goldrick-Rab

Pfeffer

T. F.

(2009). Beyond access: Explaining socioeconomic differences in college transfer. Sociology of Education, 82(2), 101–125. doi:10.1177/00380407090820020110.1177/003804070908200201

24.

Graham

S. E.

(2009). Students in rural schools have limited access to advanced mathematics courses. Durham, NH: Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire. Retrieved from http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/FS-Rural-married-couple-families-08.pdf

25.

Griffin

Hutchins

B. C.

Meece

J. L.

(2011). Where do rural high school students go to find information about their futures? Journal of Counseling & Development, 89, 172–181.

26.

Haller

E. J.

Virkler

S. J.

(1993). Another look at rural-nonrural differences in students’ educational aspirations. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 9, 170–178.

27.

Hardré

P. L.

Sullivan

D. W.

Crowson

M. H.

(2009). Student characteristics and motivation in rural high schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 24(16). Retrieved from http//jrre.psu.edu/articles24-16.pdf

28.

Howley

C. B.

(1997). How to make rural education research rural: An essay at practical advice. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 13, 131–138. Retrieved from http://www.jrre.psu.edu/articles/v13,n2,p131-138,Howley.pdf

29.

Howley

C. W.

(2006). Remote possibilities: Rural children’s educational aspirations. Peabody Journal of Education, 81(2), 62–80. doi:10.1207/S15327930pje8102_410.1207/S15327930pje8102_4

30.

(2003). Educational aspirations and postsecondary access and choice: Students in urban, suburban, and rural schools compared. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(14). Retrieved from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n14/

31.

Irvin

M. J.

Meece

J. L.

Byun

Farmer

T. W.

Hutchins

B. C.

(in press). Relationship of school context to rural youth’s educational achievement and aspirations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

32.

Israel

G. D.

Beaulieu

L. J.

(2004). Investing in communities: Social capital’s role in keeping youth in school. Journal of the Community Development Society, 34(2), 35–57. doi:10.1080/1557533040949011110.1080/15575330409490111

33.

Israel

G. D.

Beaulieu

L. J.

Hartless

(2001). The influence of family and community social capital on educational achievement. Rural Sociology, 66(1), 43–68. doi:10.1111/j.1549-0831.2001.tb00054.x10.1111/j.1549-0831.2001.tb00054.x

34.

Johnson

Strange

(2009). Why rural matters 2009: The realities of rural education growth. Arlington, VA: The Rural School and Community Trust.

35.

Lapan

R. T.

Tucker

Kim

Kosciulek

J. F.

(2003). Preparing rural adolescents for post-high school transitions. Journal of Counseling & Development, 81, 329–342.

36.

Lee

J. M.

Rawls

(2010). The college completion agenda: 2010 progress report. The College Board. Retrieved from http://completionagenda.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/reports_pdf/Progress_Report_2010.pdf

37.

Lee

McIntire

W. G.

(2000). Interstate variation in the mathematics achievement of rural and nonrural students. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 16, 168–181.

38.

Lichter

D. T.

Johnson

K. M.

(2007). The changing spatial concentration of America’s rural poor population. Rural Sociology, 72, 331–358. doi:10.1526/003601107781799290

39.

Lippman

Burns

McArthur

(1996). Urban schools: The challenge of location and poverty. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

40.

Long

J. S.

Freese

(2006). Regression models for categorical dependent variables using Stata (2nd ed.). College Station, TX: Stata Press.

41.

Monk

D. H.

(2007). Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in rural areas. The Future of Children, 17(1), 155–174. doi:10.1353/foc.2007.000910.1353/foc.2007.0009

42.

O’Hare

W. P.

Savage

(2006). Child poverty in rural America: New data shows increases in 41 states. Durham, NH: Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire. Retrieved from http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/FS_ruralchildpoverty_06.pdf

43.

Provasnik

KewalRamani

Coleman

M. M.

Gilbertson

Herring

Xie

(2007). Status of education in rural America (NCES 2007-040). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

44.

Rogers

W. H.

(1993). Regression standard errors in clustered samples. Stata Technical Bulletin, 13, 19–23.

45.

Roscigno

V. J.

Crowley

M. L.

(2001). Rurality, institutional disadvantage, and achievement/attainment. Rural Sociology, 66, 268–293. doi:10.1111/j.1549-0831.2001.tb00067.x10.1111/j.1549-0831.2001.tb00067.x

46.

Roscigno

J. V.

Tomaskovic-Devey

Crowley

L. M.

(2006). Education and the inequalities of place. Social Forces, 84, 2121–2145.

47.

Royston

(2004). Multiple imputation of missing values. Stata Journal, 4, 227–241.

48.

Rural Policy Research Institute. (2006). Defining rural: Definitions of rural areas in the U.S. Columbia, MO: Author.

49.

Smith

M. H.

Beaulieu

L. J.

Seraphine

(1995). Social capital, place of residence, and college attendance. Rural Sociology, 60, 363–380. doi:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1995.tb00578.x10.1111/j.1549-0831.1995.tb00578.x

50.

Snyder

T. D.

Dillow

S. A.

(2010). Digest of education statistics 2009 (NCES 2010-013). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

51.

Strong

D. A.

Del Gross

Burwick

Jethwani

Ponza

(Eds.). (2005). Rural research needs and data for selected human services. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

52.

Sun

(1999). The contextual effects of community social capital on academic performance. Social Science Research, 28, 403–426. doi:10.1006/ssre.1999.066110.1006/ssre.1999.0661

53.

Sun

Hobbs

Elder

Sun

(1997). The effects of residence location on parental involvement with the school—A contrast between non-metropolitan rural and other communities. Southern Rural Sociology, 13, 41–64.

54.

Theobald

(2005). Urban and rural schools: Overcoming lingering obstacles. Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 116–122.

55.

Truscott

D. M.

Truscott

S. D.

(2005). Differing circumstances, shared challenges: Finding common ground between urban and rural schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 123–130.

56.

Turley

R. N. L.

(2009). College proximity: Mapping access to opportunity. Sociology of Education, 82, 126–146. doi:10.1177/00380407090820020210.1177/003804070908200202

57.

U.S. Office of Management and Budget. (2010). 2010 standards for delineating metropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fedreg_2010/06282010_metro_standards-Complete.pdf

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.02 MB