The Impact of Reference Groups on the Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Women College Students

Abstract

The present study deals with the influence of reference groups on the student's decision to go to college and on other areas related to post-college expectations. This analysis describes a sample of women students at one private college in the Middle East. Basic conclusions are: 1. Both parents are perceived by their daughters to play a very important role in the educational and occupational aspirations of their female children who go on to college. The pattern of parental influence slightly favors the authority of the father in this regard, but in general the tendency is towards an equalitarian relationship. 2. Relatives including sisters and brothers are not perceived as a significant factor in providing direction for the college plans of students 3. Friends, teachers, and other adults are consistently overlooked as a source of guidance and support in reference to college plans. 4. The dominance of the family does not require the complete subordination of the individual; self-assertion is particularly noticeable in areas of direct concern to the student. 5. The above pattern remains the same when differences in socioeconomic and other social characteristics are considered. Theoretically, the continued reliance on the family as a primary group not permeated by the influence of secondary groups implies the solidarity of the nuclear family in the Middle Eastern society. Furthermore, membership in a group which has involved deep-seated attachments cannot be easily forgotten or destroyed. The result is very likely to be that of a great deal of dependence on family ties and bonds.