Absurdly Ambitious? Teenagers’ Expectations for the Future and the Realities of Social Structure

Abstract

Expectations for achievement in the US border on the unrealistic. High school students expect to obtain better jobs and more education than current cohorts have achieved. Many youth also seem unaware of how to realize their ambitions. These findings lead to several questions about the causes and consequences of ambition. First, how do American youths' ambitions compare with those of past cohorts and what consequences stem from rising ambitions? Second, how likely is it that youth will achieve their ambitions? What structural forces hinder or assist the goal attainment process? Finally, what cultural and institutional forces shape ambition in the United States? We review available evidence for these questions. Experts agree that the youth are overly ambitious, but debate the consequences of over-ambition. Furthermore, youth privileged by their race, class, and gender status are more likely to achieve their ambitions than less privileged youth, confirming the key sociological premise that broader social structures play an important role in whether individuals realize their dreams.'Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?' -Robert Browning

Uncertainty in Early Occupational Aspirations: Role Exploration or Aimlessness?

“…Yet, for at least some of the youth who aspire to professional work in adulthood, this certainty in occupational aspirations may still be unrealistic. Research clearly shows that adolescents have increasingly become overly ambitious in their aspirations, and many youth may be certain that they can achieve more than is possible (see Baird, Burge, and Reynolds 2008 for a review). Though we demonstrate in this paper a statistically significant difference in longer-term socioeconomic attainment among youth who were uncertain and those who aspired to professional jobs, lofty ambitions for at least a subgroup of those adolescents were likely to be certain but unrealistic.…”

‘I reckon my life will be easy, but my kids will be buggered’: ambivalence in young people's positive perceptions of individual futures and their visions of environmental collapse

“…These studies maintain that levels of cultural capital create a dichotomy between those who can maintain a 'choice biography' that embraces flexibility and uncertainty, and those who are constrained to maintain a traditional 'normal biography' (Du Bois-Reymond 1999). Thomsen et al (2002) argue that in the 'critical moments' in the transitional period, 'a ''can do'' approach to life may be a necessary condition for progressive personal change, yet it is unlikely to be sufficient in the face of structural constraints' (Thomsen et al 2002, p. 351; see also Baird et al 2008). Others maintain that there was some evidence that 'fate' was being reconstructed as 'choice' and there was a general attitude of 'life being in your own hands' regardless of socio-economic background (Evans et al 2001, p. 22).…”

Aspects of the resilience and settlement of refugee youth: a narrative study using body maps

“…Sociological structures such as gender roles and cultural histories influence goal setting among youth (BAIRD; BURGE; REYNOLDS, 2008;FOSTER, 2005). Michael had one goal, to get through school so he could work, which may have been influenced by historical and cultural patriarchal perspectives in which men typically are the household providers and are socialized to work (BAIRD; BURGE; REYNOLDS, 2008).…”