The Role of Social Capital in Educational Aspirations of Rural Youth

Social capital – the value of an individual’s relationship with other people – can influence one’s life opportunities and choices, including the decision to invest in postsecondary education. In this article, researchers look at how the relationships held by young people living in rural areas influence their educational aspirations, based on a national survey of high school-aged youth. They found that parents’ and teachers’ expectations of youth to pursue college significantly influenced youth’s educational aspirations, even after controlling for background variables (e.g., parental education, family economic hardship, race, gender). Contrary to prior research, the study found that the proportion of students eligible for free lunch and of minority students in the respondents’ schools is not correlated with their educational aspirations – indicating that parent and teacher support, along with other enabling factors, can generate college aspirations even among students from less affluent backgrounds.