Black-White Differences in Aspirations Among Deep South High School Students

Abstract

In recent years numerous studies have focused on the occupational aspirations of selected segments of the youth population.1 An area of special concem has been the apparently low levels of aspiration expressed by black youth. This concern has centered around a set of questionable assumptions dealing with the interplay between the aspirations of high school students and their subsequent occupational attainment. These assumptions, which may have definite implications for the design of action programs for black youth, can be briefly summarized: (1) black people in the U.S. have experienced a history of limited occupational attainment, i.e., limited in comparison to the attainment of the larger society; (2) high levels of occupational aspiration of high school students are thought to strongly encourage later high levels of occupational attainment; (3) studies of racial differences in occupational aspirations have often reported that black youth