Career aspiration and related contextual variables

Abstract

This study examines the differences between male and female adolescents and their maths study on their career aspiration. The study investigates the effect of grade point average and parents' educational level on adolescents reported career aspiration. A career aspiration scale is administered to 2717 students representing tenth and eleventh grades. The findings reveal females have higher scores on career aspiration than males. Students who study pure maths in their career path have higher score on career aspiration than those with applied maths. Results also show significant effects of parents' educational level and grade point average on adolescents' career aspiration. Suggestion is provided to consider contextual variables in designing interventions.

The Role of Family Influence and Academic Satisfaction on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Happiness

“…Parents’ education affects their knowledge of the profession and life, their experiences, their horizons, and ultimately their decisions for themselves and their children. It is seen that well-educated families make an effort to prepare a better future for their children by taking advantage of this knowledge and experience [ 53 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Therefore, the influence of the family is expected to affect the child’s CDSE.…”

Psychometric Properties and a Multiple Indicators Multiple Cause Model of the Career Aspiration Scale with College Students of Rural Thailand

“…Recognized as critical in student career development theory [1], career aspirations are linked to an individual's self-concept, career goals, academic achievement, and work performance [2,3]. According to Sewell et al [4], career aspirations are a driving force associated with action behaviors that motivate individuals to achieve goals.…”

“…Indeed, career aspiration is a complicated structure that requires different levels and areas of development-family, educational institution, and social level, that impacts lifestyle and career goals [1,7]. Encouraging and motivating students to further their career aspirations [2] can help them develop professional skills, expand sustainable career choices, and increase competitiveness in the labor market [7]. In addition, the COVID-19 Sustainability 2021, 13, 10377 2 of 19 pandemic may currently affect student career aspirations, influencing their career choice opportunities, career behaviors, and mental health [8].…”

“…To assess the career aspirations of women in the United States, O'Brien [27] developed the Career Aspiration Scale (CAS), which has been revised as the CAS-R to provide better psychometric properties and to assess leadership, achievement, and educational aspirations [28]. CAS and CAS-R have been implemented in varied studies, for example: in Chinese schools [29], with Korean students [30,31], in Indonesian high schools [32,33], in US colleges [23,34,35], Pakistani colleges [36], with Indian adolescents [37], with collegeeducated Indian women [38], in a Thai university [7,13], in Thai secondary schools [39], Omani schools [2], and Chinese colleges [40]. Although the CAS-R has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity and has also been proven valid in various contexts, factor structure and psychometric properties have not been consistent across studies.…”

The relation between subjective well‐being and career aspirations amongst a sample of adolescents in low socioeconomic status communities in Cape Town

“…These include self‐esteem (see Mau & Bikos, 2000; McKay, Sumnall, Cole, & Percy, 2012), self‐efficacy (see Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001), school commitment (see Stewart, Stewart, & Simons, 2007), socioeconomic status (SES) (see Cochran, Wang, Stevenson, Johnson, & Crews, 2011; Hill et al, 2004), and social support (see Hendricks et al, 2015; Hill et al, 2003; Otto, 1977; Shumba & Naong, 2012). In terms of gender, studies have found differences in aspirations for males and females (see Ashby & Schoon, 2010; Gutman & Schoon, 2012; Howard et al, 2011; Meece, Askew, Agger, Hutchins, & Byun, 2014) influenced by cultural beliefs regarding gender roles, shaping males’ and females’ perceptions of their own abilities and relevant careers (Al‐Bahrani, Allawati, Shindi, & Bakkar, 2020; Correll, 2001). In the same way, studies suggest that career aspirations change as children become older (see Patton & Creed, 2007; Sheldrake, 2018).…”