Occupational Aspirations Research Articles

On the influence of parents and peers on occupational aspirations in Germany under special regard of secondary school track interactions

International research has established that significant others, such as parents and peers, can influence a student’s educational or occupational aspirations. However, this research also reveals that influences differ by educational system, and the effects of peers are strongest in systems with low levels of stratification. For a long time, it was assumed that these effects were weaker in highly stratified systems, such as in Germany. However, our results using large-scale data (N > 11,000) indicate that the situation is more complex and parents and peers have different influences, depending on the secondary school track a student attends. Occupational aspirations are lower, on average, in non-academic tracks yet more diverse than in the academic track. Parents strongly influence students’ occupational aspirations in the academic track, while peers are more relevant in non-academic tracks, where no parental effects are detectable. These results suggest that the influence of significant others is not uniform but rather complex as school track interactions are present. Reporting uniform effects in systems with strong tracking is problematic and needs to be reconsidered.

Facial misfits accelerate stereotype-based associative learning

Counterstereotypes challenge the deleterious effects that gender-typed beliefs exert on people’s occupational aspirations and lifestyle choices. Surprisingly, however, the critical issue of how readily unexpected person-related knowledge can be acquired remains poorly understood. Accordingly, in two experiments in which the facial appearance of targets was varied to manipulate goodness-of-stereotype-fit (i.e., high vs. low femininity/masculinity), here we used a probabilistic selection task to probe the rate at which counter-stereotypic and stereotypic individuals can be learned. Whether occupational (Expt. 1) or trait-related (Expt. 2) gender stereotypes were explored, a computational analysis yielded consistent results. Underscoring the potency of surprising information (i.e., facial misfits), knowledge acquisition was accelerated for unexpected compared to expected persons, both in counter-stereotypic and stereotypic learning contexts. These findings affirm predictive accounts of social perception and speak to the optimal characteristics of interventions designed to reduce stereotyping outside the laboratory.

Educational and occupational aspirations of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: a qualitative analysis.

Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYACS) are patients diagnosed with cancer between 15 and 39years of age. AYACS are often derailed from planned educational and occupational endeavors due to disruption from cancer treatment and its consequences. The study objective was to examine how a personal cancer diagnosis impacted AYACS' experiences related to these endeavors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of a larger study assessing psychosocial challenges among a younger AYACS subset aged 15-25years old at the time of cancer diagnosis. Interviews were coded based on responses and were used to develop themes related to educational and occupational endeavors. Data were collected from 35 participants. Five themes emerged: (1) Pauses in educational attainment had a detrimental effect on educational goals for some participants, but further solidified and sculpted educational plans for others; (2) Although participants experienced challenges accomplishing educational goals, supportive school environments helped surmount these challenges; (3) Participants reflected on rethinking career aspirations, though some desired to pursue the same occupation planned before cancer diagnosis; (4) Participants experienced challenges, including physical and cognitive limitations, upon returning to work; and (5) Participants valued autonomy and normalcy through work and appreciated supportive and flexible work environments. AYACS prioritize professional achievement, yet encounter challenges in achieving professional goals. Our findings create a foundation for developing and testing prospective interventions to promote continuance of school and work during cancer treatment when feasible, and proactive reintegration strategies for those who paused professional goals due to cancer treatment.

A study on occupational aspirations of senior secondary school students of a selected school of Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh

Background: Life is full of struggles and an individual has to face numerous challenging situations where there is need to make right decisions. In the era of advancement of scientific knowledge and gradual development of materialistic outlook, it is believed that education should enable the individual to earn his living. Occupational aspirations in the early years of life influence the vocational choice in the later life, which determine individual’s success in regard to job satisfaction, productivity and adjustment. Hence this study was undertaken with a view to make an attempt to study the occupational aspirations of senior secondary school students of Mandi district. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional survey method was used. A sample of 100 students (50 girls and 50 boys) of senior secondary level (classes XI and XII) was randomly selected from the selected Government senior secondary school. Occupational aspiration scale by Dr. J. S. Grewal was used to collect data for the study. For data analysis, percentage, mean, standard deviation and t-test were used. Results: Majority, i.e., 76% senior secondary students were found to have average occupational aspiration level. No significant difference was found in occupational aspiration level between urban and rural senior secondary students. Conclusions: Majority of senior secondary students were found to have average occupational aspiration level, thus highlighting the importance of guiding the students from secondary education stage towards selection of a right career according to their occupational aspirations.

Ambitious, misaligned, or uncertain? The occupational and educational aspirations of immigrant-origin youth in Germany

ABSTRACT Immigrant-origin students often hold higher educational aspirations than native-origin peers, accounting for socioeconomic status and school grades. The consequences of this ‘Immigrant Aspiration Paradox’ (IAP) on their socioeconomic attainment are debated. Although individuals’ occupational aspirations and how they compare with their educational aspirations (i.e. their alignment) also affect status attainment, they are understudied in the IAP literature. We contribute to the debate on the benefits of the IAP by investigating immigrant-native gaps in the level, (mis)alignment, and (un)certainty of teenage occupational and educational aspirations and their consequences on educational attainment in Germany. First, we describe immigrant-native gaps in teenage aspirations. Then, we investigate whether these differences mediate immigrant-native gaps in upper secondary attainment and tertiary enrollment. In line with the immigrant optimism theory, Asian-origin and Turkish-origin students are more likely to hold aligned high aspirations. On average, immigrant-origin students are less likely to have aligned low aspirations compared to native-origin students, and equally likely to hold misaligned or uncertain aspirations. We find that students from most immigrant-origin groups have a higher upper secondary attainment and tertiary enrollment than native-origin students, net of controls. Large portions of these advantages are mediated by the aspirations of immigrant-origin students, which we interpret as evidence of the benefits of the IAP.

Compromises in occupational choice and premature termination of vocational education and training: gender type, prestige, and occupational interests in focus

This study examines whether premature termination of vocational education and training (VET) is more likely when trainees have to make compromises between their realistic occupational aspirations and the occupation for which they are trained in terms of the occupational dimensions of gender type, prestige, and occupational interests. Specifically, it examines the relative importance of the three compromise dimensions on premature VET termination. The study is based on a sample of 3,241 VET entrants from a cohort of ninth graders in 2010 in the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS-SC4) in combination with aggregated data on occupational characteristics. Results from discrete hazard rate models indicate a higher risk of premature VET termination for trainees whose VET occupation differs from their realistic occupational aspiration from their school days. While compromises in prestige have no overall effect, both compromises in interests and gender type threaten the stability of VET. The results also indicate that compromises in interests have the strongest effect on the risk of premature VET termination and that the effects of compromises in gender type are partly mediated by the effects of compromises in interests. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis revealed that the main effects of compromises in gender type and prestige are gender specific.

The socioeconomic gap in the development of Korean adolescents’ occupational aspirations while approaching the post-secondary transition

AbstractThis study longitudinally investigates the socioeconomic differentials in South Korean adolescents’ occupational aspiration development while they approach the post-secondary transition. It also takes into account the two-fold relation between socioeconomic status and academic performance in shaping occupational aspirations: mediation and interaction. Using the Korean Education and Employment Panel (KEEP), the study documents two main results. First, there exists a significant socioeconomic gap in Korean adolescents’ occupational aspirations which is neither widened nor narrowed over the transition period. Second, the relationship between socioeconomic status and academic performance is not limited to mediation but demonstrates a significant interaction in developing occupational aspirations.

The effects of unstructured out-of-school engagement in science on adolescents’ vocational interests, occupational aspirations, competencies, school grades, and ability self-concepts.

The effects of unstructured out-of-school engagement in science on adolescents’ vocational interests, occupational aspirations, competencies, school grades, and ability self-concepts.

Feeling joy × feeling competent: Predicting math-related occupational aspirations from math grades, gender, and parents’ occupational background via motivational beliefs.

Feeling joy × feeling competent: Predicting math-related occupational aspirations from math grades, gender, and parents’ occupational background via motivational beliefs.

Occupational Aspiration of Vocational and Non-vocational Students: A Comparative Study

Occupational Aspiration of Vocational and Non-vocational Students: A Comparative Study

"I will attend to college to give my family a better life": Indebtedness with the family and the challenges of building occupational plans for Peruvian adolescents.

Identifying a future occupation is an important achievement during adolescence, a process particularly complex for Peruvian adolescents. Perú is a postcolonial country with many forms of inequality, and one of them is the opportunity gap to attend a college. However, most adolescents aspire to go to university as a way out of poverty, and, since Perú is a collectivist society, this is a family task: it is adolescents' responsibility to go to college in order to give a better life to their families. Theories developed for WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) do not provide an accurate explanation of Peruvian adolescents' occupational projects because they envision a person with autonomy and resources to choose a career. Thus, our goal is to analyze adolescents' occupational plans considering the role adolescent-caregivers relationships play in this configuration. This study is part of the project "Being an adolescent in Perú" (PUCP-UNICEF) which characterized Peruvian adolescence by studying 14 variables through a qualitative study with 66 participants. In depth interviews were conducted and the data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results of the thematic analysis are organized in three topics that explain the relationship between occupational plans and adolescent-caregiver relationship (1) adolescents have occupational aspirations rather than achievable projects that are that are built alone, without adult support; (2) attending college as an occupational aspiration belongs to the family, not to the individual operating also a kind of "debt" to pay to their caregivers for being financially supported to be able to study in high school; and (3) caregivers do not have the possibility or resources of being able to accompany their adolescent's occupational plans. We conclude that Peruvian adolescents think about their future within the framework of their family's needs, rather than linked to personal and occupational goals, impeding adolescents from exploring and selecting a realistic occupational goal consistent with their interests. The results allow us to discuss the relevance of studying adolescent development taking into account the particularities of the adolescents' cultural and socioeconomic contexts as well as the core role that relationship with caregivers plays in this process in Perú.

Perceived instrumentality of early childhood education: parents’ valued future goals for their children

ABSTRACT Adopting an integrative grounded theory approach, this study aimed to uncover parents’ perceptions of instrumentality regarding early childhood education within the scope of their children’s academic skills, social-emotional development, and occupational aspirations. A total of 32 parents, each with at least one child enrolled in a preschool for no less than one year, were recruited from a large city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey through snowball sampling. The data were collected through online semi-structured interviews and analysed using a three-step systematic framework of analysis. The results revealed that parents’ perceptions of instrumentality regarding early childhood education included diverse and meaningful categories related to their children’s academic skills, social-emotional development, and occupational aspirations. Notably, the results also demonstrated that, in comparison to academic skills and occupational aspirations, parents perceived early childhood education as more instrumental in enhancing their children’s social-emotional development. Consequently, the results of the present study enabled the emergence of a new adaptive theory of perceived instrumentality in early childhood education.

We Know What is Good for Her: Hunar, and Respectable Work for Women

Education is often conflated with women’s empowerment. Access to formal education is considered to possess the potential to usher in the elimination of the imposed dependence of women on men by enhancing their employability and easing their entry into the labour market. This article argues that establishing such simplistic interconnections evades hidden constraints of sociocultural conditions entwined with patriarchal ideologies that influence and even partially prohibit women’s access to education vis-a-vis employment, resulting in their marginalistaion in the labour market. Examining the nature of educational access and occupational aspirations, of urban women residing in a Delhi settlement, the article shows that patriarchal ideology impresses and controls the nature and outcome of the education they obtain. In the settlement, while most young girls are pursuing higher education, not everyone is expected to channelise their educational degrees to secure paid employment. Unlike men, women are not encouraged to engage in every form of work as the nature of female occupation is tied to notions of honour and disgrace of the family. Locally prevailing patriarchal norms dictate and define what constitutes respectable work for women. They are permitted to aspire and engage in reputable work.

Do job aspirations cause job choice? Insights from women entering male‐dominated occupational training in India

AbstractMotivationThe participation rate of women in India's labour force is not only one of the lowest in the world, it has also been declining. To increase women's employment, some observers argue for reducing occupational gender segregation so that more women enter non‐traditional jobs.PurposeI ask how aspirations for non‐traditional jobs are formed among young women in Delhi. The aim was to enable policy‐makers to foster occupational aspirations for non‐traditional jobs so women could enter jobs considered to be men's work, reducing gender segregation and increasing women's participation in the labour market.Methods and approachI interviewed 72 young women from low‐income households in Delhi, following a semi‐structured guide. These young women were training either in jobs seen as the preserve of men—taxi drivers, electricians, and electronics mechanics—or in traditionally female work in beauty salons.FindingsContrary to conventional wisdom, young women's entry into non‐traditional training in Delhi was not a result of their occupational aspirations. Rather, entry into training saw them aspire to the jobs for which they trained.Policy implicationsTo increase women's entry into jobs dominated by men, policy‐makers do not need to influence young women's occupational aspirations. Instead, they should focus on factors that directly affect job entry—for example, having training centres close to where these young women live—and provide opportunities for young women to train.Traditional concepts of occupational aspirations, generally derived from the global North, do not apply in the same way to young women in India. My study raises questions about these conceptions of aspirations and prompts future studies to assess whether they apply in other parts of the global South.

The Socioeconomic Gap in the Development of Korean Adolescents' Occupational Aspirations While Approaching the Post-Secondary Transition

The Socioeconomic Gap in the Development of Korean Adolescents' Occupational Aspirations While Approaching the Post-Secondary Transition

Supplemental Material for The Effects of Unstructured Out-of-School Engagement in Science on Adolescents’ Vocational Interests, Occupational Aspirations, Competencies, School Grades, and Ability Self-Concepts

Supplemental Material for The Effects of Unstructured Out-of-School Engagement in Science on Adolescents’ Vocational Interests, Occupational Aspirations, Competencies, School Grades, and Ability Self-Concepts

Supplemental Material for Feeling Joy × Feeling Competent: Predicting Math-Related Occupational Aspirations From Math Grades, Gender, and Parents’ Occupational Background via Motivational Beliefs

Supplemental Material for Feeling Joy × Feeling Competent: Predicting Math-Related Occupational Aspirations From Math Grades, Gender, and Parents’ Occupational Background via Motivational Beliefs

The relationship between Cooperative Education and Occupational Aspiration of physical education students in the context of Artificial intelligence: the chain mediating role of employability and self-efficacy

Abstract Under the new situation, the state vigorously supports physical education, and the cooperation between industry, academia, and research is increasingly showing an important role in physical education and students’ careers. In this paper, under the background of artificial intelligence, combined with the “government, industry, academia, research and utilization” cultivation mode, we constructed an industry-academia-research cooperative education model of physical education based on a cloud platform. Based on the edge structure model, a mediation effect test model was designed to verify the interlocking mediating roles of employability and self-efficacy in the relationship between cooperative education and physical education students’ career aspirations. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant correlation (0.816) between physical education students’ acceptance of industry-academia-research cooperative education and career aspirations, and the correlation between cooperative education and employability and self-efficacy was strong. The mediation effect test found that both employability and self-efficacy had a significant mediating effect between cooperative education and career aspirations (P<0.05), and there was a chain mediating effect between the two. The application of the industry-university-research cooperative education model in this paper can promote the formation of good career aspirations among physical education students and provide a new direction for their future employment.

A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF WELLNESS LIFESTYLE FACTORS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS OF SELECTED IIM IN INDIA

A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF WELLNESS LIFESTYLE FACTORS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS OF SELECTED IIM IN INDIA

Making it to the Academic Path in a Tracked Education System: The Interplay of Individual Agency and Social Origin in Early Educational Transitions.

Little is known about the role of agency in transitions in tracked education systems or whether it varies by socioeconomic background. This study addressed this gap by estimating structural equation models based on longitudinal data that are representative of the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland (N = 1273 individuals, surveyed from age 6 to 18, mean age at wave 1: Mage = 6.54, SDage = 0.50, female = 49%). The findings reveal that agency (captured by study effort and occupational aspirations) and socioeconomic background (measured by parental education and family income) significantly predicted students' transitions to academically demanding tracks in lower- and upper-secondary education. In the transition to upper-secondary education, students with fewer socioeconomic resources benefitted less than their more advantaged peers from ambitious aspirations, but they benefitted more from exerting effort. These findings suggest that both an optimistic forward-looking orientation and the exertion of effort are required to make it to an academic track. Effort may serve as a "substitutive" resource for less socioeconomically advantaged students, whereas ambitious aspirations may enhance the positive effect of family socioeconomic resources on academic educational trajectories. Overall, the evidence from this study calls for greater attention to investigating not only how agency shapes adolescents' educational trajectories and opportunities but also how its role differs across social groups.