Choosing Their Own Path: Why Five Senior High School Males Chose to Forego College
Research on enrollment has shown that since 1970 the percentage of male students enrolled in postsecondary education has declined. By choosing not to further their education, many young men may be setting themselves up for limited economic and career opportunities. While the quantitative studies have done a good job of defining this trend they do not identify the influences that play a role in the complicated and important decision these young men are making. A significant body of quantitative research exists that has defined various factors that influence the college decision in high school age students. That research formed the theoretical framework for this qualitative study that looked more deeply into the lives of five high school senior males who had the ability to go to college but had chosen instead to forego college and enter the workforce after high school. The five participants and their families were interviewed in depth to determine what influences were most important in their decision not to attend college. The results showed the complicated interaction of themes such as family influence, socioeconomic status, class influences and school disengagement that ultimately led each one of these young men to make the decision to enter the workforce instead of going on for further education. One of the most common themes that emerged in this study was disengagement from school that all of the participants experienced. Each of the participants expressed a dislike for school and a desire to get out of school and begin pursuing their own path in life. Other themes that emerged were socioeconomic and class related and included lack of financial resources, little or no parental support, lack of value placed on a college education, and lack of information or assistance from high school counseling resulting in poor academic preparation for college.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign