EDUCATIONAL HOPES OF BLACK-AND-WHITE HIGH-SCHOOL SENIORS IN VIRGINIA

This study presents exploratory research comparing college aspirations and expectations of Black and White high school seniors in Virginia w ho desire to attend college, (N = 40,848; Whites n = 33,006, or 81% of total population; Blacks, n = 7,842, or 19%). Research questions inve stigate how expectations and aspirations are influenced by (a) high sc hool counseling, (b) perceived parental agreement with educational goa ls, and (c) type of curriculum-college preparatory or other. Results i ndicate that Black students use high school counseling to develop educ ational goals significantly more than Whites do (p < .05). The races d iffered significantly in the high school program in which they were en rolled: Over 60% of White students and 40% of Black students were enro lled in a college preparatory curriculum. Yet this did not produce a s ignificant difference between the races in their educational expectati ons even when they were enrolled in noncollege preparatory programs. P olicy implications of these findings are addressed.