II—Some Differences between Prospective Scientists, Non‐Scientists and Early Leavers in a Representative Sample of English Grammar School Boys

Abstract

Summary. What sorts of boys are most likely to have both a high level of educational aspiration and a preference for scientific studies? Answers to this question were sought through a comparison of those boys who display these attributes with those who do not. The study here reported is concerned with differences manifested in the following areas: Type of school. Home background. Attitudes towards certain aspects of school life. Interests in school subjects and the values attributed to them. Spare time interests and the reasons for pursuing them. Vocational aspirations and the things that make a job appear to be worth‐while. The results obtained give rise to some important considerations which seem to be centred around the following points: The relative importance of sociological and psychological influences in connection with (a) educational aspiration, (b) science preference, and (c) the effective combination of these two. The basis of the achievement drive, and in particular, the question of whether it is primarily sociological or psychological. The role of the self, and the significance of the part played by a developing self‐knowledge.