Purpose: This research aims to add to the literature on Academic Optimism, a composite measure composed of teacher perceptions of trust in students, academic press, and collective efficacy by exploring a similar set of constructs from the student perceptive. The relationships between student trust in teachers, student perceptions of academic…

Analysis of data from 797 high school seniors planning to delay further education reveal that socioeconomic factors significantly influence the types of school activities pursued and that these activities influence educational plans. Pragmatic attitudes, inaccurate assessment of educational levels necessary for desired professions, and new…

Regression analysis indicates that approximately two-thirds of the variance in boys' vocational aspirations and half the variance in girls' vocational aspirations are accounted for by a model that uses as predictors social class, mental ability, home environment, teacher and parent expectation, and peer aspirations. (Author/IRT)