NORTHWEST AND NORTHCENTRAL KANSAS HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR COMMUNITY ATTACHMENT AND QUALITY OF LIFE, EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS, MIGRATION INTENTIONS Brett Zollinger Mike Walker Fort Hays State University Presented at the 2015 Midwest Sociological Society Conference Survey conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs. Support to carry out this study was provided by a grant from the Fort Hays State University College of Arts and Sciences made available through the generosity of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.

Methods 2014 spring semester web survey of high school seniors School administrators of 55 northwest and northcentral Kansas high school contacted for participation 8 high schools allowed the survey to be fielded, 5 refused, the remainder did not reply to multiple requests 1 urban trade center high school – Hays High; 7 rural schools Consent from parents/guardians was obtained 380 targeted high school seniors and 162 completions results in a response rate of 42% Given the 162 responses from 380 in the total targeted population, the survey has a sampling margin of error of +/-5.8%. 67 Hays High (in urban trade center) respondents ; 95 combined respondents from rural high schools

Counties of High Schools in Study

Population trends of western Kansas

Population and Population Change since Peak Year in High School’s Community Last 100 Years Town 2010 Population Population Peak Population Peak Year Change Since Peak Population Clifton and Clyde combined 1270 1920 1960 Clifton, -33.85% 1930 Clyde Beloit (St. John’s HS) 3835 4367 1980 -12.18% Ellis 2062 2649 1950 -22.16% Hays 20510 2010 NA Hill City 1474 2421 1960 -39.12% Logan 589 859 -31.43% Plainville 1903 3104 -38.69% Grainfield (Wheatland HS) 277 389 -28.79%

Quality of Life Rating of Community

Anticipated Quality of Life in Community in 10 Years

Community Attachment: Community Involvement

Community Attachment: School Involvement

After High School Plans

Perceived After High School Direction Encouraged by Parents and Teachers

Highest Level of Education Plan to Complete

MLS Regression: Correlates of Expected Highest Level of Education   B Std. Error Beta Sig. Constant 2.580 .464 .000 Mother’s Education Level .249 .061 .321 Father’s Education level -.009 .058 -.013 .873 Parents and Teachers Encouragement 1=work/other, 2=two-year college/voc., 3=four-year college .670 .108 .459 School Prepared Me Well for College 1 strongly disagree … 5 strongly agree -.052 .083 -.047 .529

Field of Study Among Those Planning on Higher Education Rural School Seniors Hays High Seniors Nursing/Physical Therapy 18.5% 18.6% Biology, Chem, Pre-Med, Pre-Pharm 14.8% 8.5% Agribusiness/Ranch Mgmt 12.3% 6.8% Business Mgmt/Accounting 11.1% Applied Technology 10.2% Education 7.4% 5.1% Engineering/Architecture 6.2% Criminal Justice/Law 4.9% Sociology/Social Work/Psychology 3.7% Media Studies/Journalism 2.5% 13.6% Cosmotology 0% Art, Design, and Performing Arts 1.2% 3.4% Undecided/Other

Community Out-Migration Intentions of Both Those Planning for Additional Formal Education after High School and Those Planning to Work/Do Something Else

MLS Regression: Correlates of Likelihood of Returning to Community Post-College   B Std. Error Beta Sig. Constant -5.270 1.963 .009 School attachment index (0 low – 20 high) .059 .090 .073 .511 Community attachment index (0 low – 16 high) -.101 .086 -.130 .246 Like living in community (Q3a) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .399 .375 .132 .291 Like community this size (Q3c) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .642 .317 .231 .047 Good job opportunities in community (Q3d) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) -.636 .315 -.254 .048 Do not need to move from community to be successful (Q3e reverse ordered) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) 1.421 .262 .600 .000 Community as place to live in 10 years (Q13a) (1 much worse – 5 much better) .644 .423 .144 Good blue-collar high skill jobs here (Q12c) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .106 .283 .035 .708 Good white-collar professional jobs here (Q12d) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .321 .046 .683 Parents length of residence in community (Q2) .411 .207 .052 Have lots of family living here (Q3b) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) -.113 .227 -.054 .621

MLS Regression: Correlates of Likelihood of Staying in Community Long-Term   B Std. Error Beta Sig. Constant -6.446 2.802 .026 School attachment index (0 low – 20 high) -.026 .107 -.037 .805 Community attachment index (0 low – 16 high) .002 .129 .003 .987 Like living in community (Q3a) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .173 .583 .049 .769 Like community this size (Q3c) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) 1.260 .391 .431 Good job opportunities in community (Q3d) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .088 .388 .032 .821 Do not need to move from community to be successful (Q3e reverse ordered) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .606 .265 .257 Community as place to live in 10 years (Q13a) (1 much worse – 5 much better) .527 .581 .119 .369 Good blue-collar high skill jobs here (Q12c) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .069 .483 .017 .886 Good white-collar professional jobs here (Q12d) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .304 .339 .103 .374 Parents length of residence in community (Q2) .247 .227 .138 .280 Have lots of family living here (Q3b) ) (1 strongly disagree – 5 strongly agree) .080 .283 .038 .778

Summary of Findings Both urban trade center and rural high school students offer highly positive ratings of the quality of life in their community, but urban trade center seniors rate job opportunities in their community higher than rural students. Vast majorities of both groups anticipate that QoL in their community in 10 years will be same or better. Rural high school students have higher levels of community involvement than urban trade center students. Over half of all urban trade center and rural high school students are involved in at least one school organization, club, or sport. Rural high school students have higher levels of school extracurricular activity involvement than urban trade center students.

Summary of Findings (cont.) The vast majority and similar percentages of both groups (88% of Hays students and 86% of rural school students) plan to go on for some level of higher education. Only 9% of Hays students plan to only attend a two-year institution, while 17% of rural school students plan to do so. Over 70% of both student groups plan to obtain at least a bachelor’s degree. The higher a mother’s level of formal education, the higher the level of education the student expects to pursue. The higher the expected level of education one perceives his/her parents and teachers expect of him/her, the higher the level of education the student expects to pursue.

Summary of findings (cont.) The single largest percentage of both urban trade center and rural school students (about 18.5% each) plan on a nursing/physical therapy degree area Larger percentages of rural school students plan on degree areas like: biology, chemistry, pre-medicine/pre-pharmacy; agribusiness/ranch management; and business management/accounting Larger percentages of rural trade center students plan on the following degree areas: media studies/journalism and engineering/architecture

Summary of findings (cont.) 87% of rural school students who plan on higher education plan to move from the community; only 25% of urban trade center students plan to do so, but there is a four- year university in that community that over half of this school’s seniors plan to attend. On a metric from not likely at all (0) to very likely (10), respondents who plan to move away for higher education reported how likely they are to return to current community after finishing to live, work, raise a family, and 6% indicate that they are not likely at all. Feeling that one does not need to move from the community to be successful has the largest positive effect on likelihood of returning after college, followed by liking a community that size, and the longer one’s parents have lived in the community; oddly, the higher one rates good opportunities in the community now, the lower the reported likelihood of returning. Liking the community size that one lives in has the largest positive effect on likelihood of staying in the community long-term among those who indicate that they plan to stay in the community for work, higher education, or something else after graduating from high school, followed by feeling that one does not need to move from the community to be successful.