Values and Occupational Choice

Abstract

This paper focuses on (1) value orientations associated with status and situs dimensions of occupational choice, (2) sociocultural correlates of occupational values, and (3) empirical interrelationships among these value orientations. Twelve value variables are specified in the research design. Data for the study were obtained from seniors in eight Kentucky rural high schools. T HE OCCUPATIONAL choice-making process has been the focus of inquiry in numerous studies during the past decade.' Maniy generalizations, at various levels of practical or theoretical relevance, are offered in the literature. This activity has added to our knowledge about the nature of individual decision making, and thrown more light on the processes by which labor supply is allocated and channeled to job roles within society. It is generally agreed that values are social facts which influence the behavior of individuals, and, consequently, the structure and organization of the labor market. Only scant attention however, has been directed toward establishing e m pirically the relationships between specific value orientations and the selection of occupations by entrants into the labor market. Furthermore, we have very little substantive knowledge about the social and cultural origins of occupational value orientations. If values are social facts that are influential in the process of choosing an occupation, it is important, from both a scientific and practical standpoint, to ascertain the empirical relationship between specified value variables and the careerplanning situation. This is a first step in the development of a useful theoretical model. The purpose of this paper, then, is to report and discuss some findings from a study of occupational value orientations and choices by high school youth in Kentucky,2 and to suggest some directions for future re-