Occupational reproduction and mobility in STEM – parental narratives of their child’s occupational choice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing on the narrative inquiry of 32 in-depth interviews with parents of sons who study in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields in tertiary education, we described the multi-dimensional picture of intergenerational mobility and reproduction derived from the Big Class, Microclass, and Cultural Mobility Models. We explored the process of STEM career choice for students with parents in STEM vs. non-STEM-related occupations from different SES. All parents encouraged their children to acquire higher education and conveyed their career expectations for high-status careers by emphasizing the importance of education, while almost totally avoiding recommendations for pursuingspecific occupations. We found that parental professional status is less decisive in explaining their son’s occupation than parental level of education. Parents with high SES with a STEM or non-STEM occupation encouraged Big Class reproduction for their sons, while working class parents desired Big Class mobility.