| Summary: | DATA ARE NOT SUPPLIED HERE DUE TO SENSITIVITY SURROUNDING HUMAN SUBJECTS. PLEASE CONTACT DR. LOWE FOR MORE INFORMATION. A cross-section of youth and young adults across the Bering Sea region were interviewed on their post-secondary educational opportunities facilitated by the Community Development Quota (CDQ) program. The overarching project research question was: Do opportunities in post-secondary education for youth contribute to the viability of Bering Sea communities and way of life? "Viability"is defined by the degree to which a community can balance in- and out-migration, sustain a context of livelihood diversification, and create bridges to resources external to the community. To answer the research question, the investigators therefore also asked: Are there differences between contributions of college degree earners and those of vocational training graduates? What is the effect of post-secondary education on rural community out-migration for youth in Alaska? What is the effect of post-secondary education on occupation selection among rural Alaska youth? What kinds of educational opportunities contribute to bridging youth with resources external to coastal communities? Are there academic, sociocultural, or economic constraints preventing students from completing their studies or training? Hypotheses tested included the following: 1) More educational scholarships are awarded than vocational training grants. 2) More women are applying for post-secondary awards. 3) Completion of post-secondary education is correlated with outmigration. 4) Participation in educational "bridging" programs contribute to completion of education or training. 5) The majority of respondents who did not complete their studies dropped out after one year. 6) The average time to completion of studies is much longer than the traditional four years. 7) Having a social support network contributes to completion of studies. 8) Lack of adequate academic preparation contributes to non-completion of studies. 9) Financial hardship/poverty contributes to non-completion of studies. 10) Most people leave Western Alaska to find employment. Data sets included: 1) Western Alaska regional profile summaries of U.S. Census and State of Alaska data on: demographics, employment, development, subsistence economy data, educational statistics, and subsistence harvest data. 2) Ethnographic fieldnotes; 3) Focus group interview transcripts from 31 students interviewed at the University of Alaska and Alaska Career Academy; 5) An SPSS data file of 351 survey responses for survey on Alaska rural youth scholarship outcomes.
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