Level Of Educational Aspiration Research Articles

Educational Aspirations among First-Generation Students and their Parental Influence towards Pursuing Tertiary Education

The purpose of this pilot study is to ascertain the level of educational aspiration among first-generation students and the extent of parental influence in the students’ aspirations to pursue tertiary education. A total 71 form four students responded to questionnaires containing aspiration scales and the role of parent's items. The results showed that the level of educational aspirations of first-generation students to pursue studies at higher education institutions is high. The study also showed that parents’ factors influence the first-generation students’ educational aspirations in pursuing tertiary education.

Effects of single parenthood on educational aspiration and student disengagement in Korea

The recent rapid increase in divorce along with its distinctive cultural and welfare environments for single-parent families makes Korea an interesting case for examining effects of single parenthood on childrens education. Using data from Korean 9th and 12th graders I compare the levels of educational aspiration and student disengagement between students with two parents and those with a single parent distinguishing divorced single fathers widowed single fathers divorced single mothers and widowed single mothers. Logistic regression analyses show that students with a divorced single parent regardless of gender of the parent are much less likely to aspire to four-year university education and more likely to be disengaged than their counterparts with two parents. The effects of widowhood disappear once control variables are held constant. Lower household income among single-parent families explains in part the poorer educational outcomes of their children. Parent-child interaction is another important mediating factor for the effect of single fatherhood but not for single motherhood. The relevance of the extended family system and distinctive features of post-divorce living arrangements in Korea is discussed to understand the effects of single parenthood. (authors)

Adolescent psychological health problems and delinquency among volatile substance users in a school sample in South London

The study assessed prevalence of volatile substance abuse (VSA), and its link to other forms of psychoactive substance use and to other problem behaviours among 14–15 year olds recruited from sixteen secondary schools in south-west London. Lifetime use of volatile substances was reported by 126 young people (6% of the sample) whose mean age of first use was 12.6 years. Using logistic regression analysis, lifetime use of volatile substances was found to be associated with more frequent cigarette smoking and more frequent drinking in the previous month, with higher levels of anxiety, greater involvement in delinquent acts, and lower levels of educational aspirations. Among volatile substance abusers, more frequent use was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and greater delinquent activity. Volatile substance abuse may be a marker for other forms of substance use and for other behaviour problems. This issue remains inadequately explored by researchers and clinicians.

Contributions of Personality and Interests to Explaining the Educational Aspirations of College Students

This study extends prior work by examining how a different model of personality beyond the Big Five and interest are predictive of an important criterion variable, educational aspirations. This is the first study to investigate personality-interest convergence by examining the newly revised 2003 California Psychological Inventory with the 1994 Strong Interest Inventory. In general, the authors found that those personality scales and interest scales that were more related or applicable to educational aspirations were moderately correlated with level of educational aspirations. Also, hierarchical regression results showed that specific dimensions of personality and interests are related to college students’ plans for future scholarly work. Similarly, the current study found that components of one’s personality and interest may relate to aspiring to higher levels of education.

Educational Aspirations: The Contribution of Personality, Self-Efficacy, and Interests

In a sample of 365 college students, the authors examined the incremental role of personality, self-efficacy, and interests in explaining level of educational aspirations. Measures were the Adjective Check List (ACL) (Gough & Heilbrun, 1983), the Skills Confidence Inventory (Betz, Borgen, & Harmon, 1996), and the six General Occupational Themes (GOTs) of the Strong Interest Inventory (Harmon, Hansen, Borgen, & Hammer, 1994). The Big Five personality dimensions were estimated from the ACL using John's (1990) method. The authors predicted that each of these domains would make independent contributions to explaining level of educational aspirations (1= bachelor's, 2= master's, and 3= doctorate). Sequentially, following Lent, Brown, and Hackett's (1994) social cognitive career theory, blocks of the Big Five, six General Conference Themes, and six GOTs were entered into a hierarchical regression predicting educational level. With the addition of each block, R2 rose from .10, to .26, to .29 for the total sample; similar incremental predictions were obtained separately for women (.13, .29, and .32) and men (.13, .30, and .37).

Longitudinal Exploration of the Caste Theory of Educational Aspirations

This longitudinal study of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders builds on the research of Solorzano, who examined Ogbu's caste theory of educational attainment. When gender, socioeconomic status, locus of control, parental college aspirations, and academic achievement were controlled, this study found that African American youths' level of educational aspirations and planning met or exceeded those of their white counterparts. Implications of these findings for school social work practice are discussed.

The relationship of role model influences to the career salience and educational and career plans of college women

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of the perceived influence of female and male role models, gender role, and performance self-esteem to college women's career salience and career-related aspirations and choices. One hundred and seven senior women responded to a survey assessing the variables of interest. Results of stepwise regression analyses revealed that perceived role model influences, in isolation, were significantly related to career salience, level of educational aspirations, and nontraditionality of occupational choices. Role model influences were also significantly, but not very strongly, predictive of college major choices. Finally, performance self-esteem in addition to role model influences significantly predicted career salience, educational aspirations, and the nontraditionality of career choices, while the gender-role variables were largely nonpredictive. Implications of the findings for research and counseling are discussed.

Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships

Longitudinal sociometric data on adolescent friendship pairs, friends-to-be, and former friends are examined to assess levels of homophily on four attributes (frequency of current marijuana, use, level of educational aspirations, political orientation, and participation in minor delinquency) at various stages of friendship formation and dissolution. In addition, estimates are developed of the extent to which observed homophily in friendship dyads results from a process of selection (assortative pairing), in which similarity precedes association and the extent to which it results from a process of socialization in which association leads to similarity. The implications of the results for interpreting estimates of peer influence derived from cross-sectional data are discussed.

Three Sets of Ordered Variables and Their Association to the American College Test Scores

Declines in college entrance examination test scores have been documented both on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Program (ACT). Sources of such declines seem to be functions of three main contexts: (a) school-related factors, (b) student-related factors, and (c) family structure-related factors. It was found that academic course taking had the greatest partial regression coefficient. Next in predictive power was the level of educational aspiration of the student. Size of school was negatively associated with composite ACT scores. Student-related factors comprised the most significant context of association. More modest support was demonstrated for school-related factors. Family structure factors did not appear significantly related to composite ACT scores.

Level of Occupational Aspiration: An Empirical Analysis

Data from 34,118 American high school students were used to determine patterns of responses (factor structures, reliabilities, means, and standard deviations) to an indicator of level of occupational aspiration (LOA). Comparable analyses were performed on the total group and sixteen mutually exclusive and exhaustive subsamples cross-classified by sex, lower and higher socioeconomic status (SES), and grade in high school (9-12). LOA appears to be a single-factor concept in the total sample and in each subsample. Contrary to previous thinking, no evidence was found of nontrivial response pattern variations in realism or idealism by grade. The only nontrivial sex differences in response patterns concerned the reliabilities, which were slightly lower for females than for males. SES differences were found only for means. Idealistic LOAs (so-called aspirations) are as meaningful and as variable as realistic LOAs (so-called expectations'). Both contribute to the same underlying psychological dimension, LOA. LOA response patterns are essentially the same for boys as for girls and for youth in all high school grades. By analogy, the analysis also elucidates certain parallel concepts: level of educational aspiration and significant others' levels of occupational and educational expectation.

Student Personality Orientation and Advisor Choice

The first part of the study examines the relationship between five social, personal, and academic student variables and preference for instrumental or expressive personality orientations in advisors. The data are derived from a cross-sectional study of 6,472 Quebec high school students. The findings indicate that some of the background factors do have a significant relationship to the preference for certain personality orientations in particular advisors. The second part of the study compares students and advisors whose personality orientations do and do not coincide. Supporting previous findings, a strong relationship is found to exist between perceived teacher evaluation and both academic self-concept and level of educational aspiration. Comparing the relative intensities of the impact of advisor advice, no significant differences are found.

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

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.