Factors associated with educational aspirations among adolescents: cues to counteract socioeconomic differences?

Abstract

BackgroundOur study aims to follow this effort and to explore the association between health, socioeconomic background, school-related factors, social support and adolescents' sense of coherence and educational aspirations among adolescents from different educational tracks and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the role of educational aspirations in the social reproduction of health inequalities. We expect that socioeconomic background will contribute to the development of educational aspirations, but this association will be modified by available social and individual resources, which may be particularly favourable for the group of adolescents who are on lower educational tracks, since for them such resources may lead to gaining a higher educational level.MethodsWe collected data on the socioeconomic background (mother's and father's education and employment status, doubts about affordability of future study), school-related factors (school atmosphere, school conditions, attitudes towards school), perceived social support, sense of coherence (manageability, comprehensibility, meaningfulness) and the self-rated health of a national sample of Slovak adolescents (n = 1992, 53.5% females, mean age 16.9 years). We assessed the association of these factors with educational aspirations, overall and by educational tracks (grammar schools, specialised secondary schools, vocational schools).ResultsWe found statistically significant associations with educational aspirations for the factors parental educational level, father's unemployment, doubts about the affordability of future study, school atmosphere, attitude towards school, social support from the father and a sense of coherence. Social support from the mother and friends was not associated with educational aspiration, nor was self-rated health. Besides affinity towards school, the determinants of educational aspirations differed among adolescents on different educational tracks. Educational aspirations of grammar school students were associated with father's education, while the aspirations of their peers on lower educational tracks had a stronger association with mother's education and perceived social support from father and friends. Moreover, a sense of coherence contributes to the reporting of educational aspiration by students on different educational tracks.ConclusionsCharacteristics of the school environment, the family and the individual adolescent are all associated with the level of educational aspiration, but in a different way for different educational tracks. Interventions aimed at reducing socioeconomic inequalities in health via the educational system should, therefore, take this variation and the rather pivotal role of the father into account.

The Educational and Employment Aspirations of Adolescents from Areas of High Deprivation in London

“…Students who feel an affinity with their school and perceive a friendly school atmosphere may also be more likely to participate in learning on leaving compulsory education (Ireson & Hallam, 2005). Schools may also encourage educational aspirations even in the face of socio-economic disadvantage (Madarasova Geckova, Tavel, van Dijk, Abel & Reijneveld, 2010). We hypothesize, that in line with previous findings, positive perceptions of school will be associated with higher aspirations, generally, and, in particular, with aspirations regarding school and further education.…”

“…This is welldocumented in the literature as having a significant impact on children's aspirations and later achievements (Madarasova Geckova et al, 2010;Hill et al, 2004 andGlick et al, 2004). Parents can have a huge impact on their children's ability to succeed, although in some cases they may not fully understand the necessary steps their children need to take to achieve their aspirations (Kirk et al, 2011).…”

“…report that adolescents encouraged to do well by their parents were more than twice as likely to aspire to remain in education post-16 (OD 2.38; p <0.0001). Madarasova Geckova et al (2010) found that support from the father particularly was a consistent predictor of educational aspirations in adolescents. Glick and White (2004) reported that students were more likely to complete high school and continue into further education if their parents held high expectations for them.…”

Positive Psychology in the Context of Salutogenesis

“…But these experiences are themselves shaped by the broader social structure which is usually ignored. Socioeconomic status and educational levels have been shown to be important factors in building strong SOC (Sagy & Antonovsky, 2000;Madarasova Geckova, Tavel, van Dijk, Abel, & Reijneveld, 2010).…”

Home resources as a measure of socio-economic status in Ghana

“…Children who live and are educated in vicinities with well-financed schools are more likely to have higher educational aspirations (Madarasova Geckova et al 2010;Teachman and Paasch 1998), and numerous studies have indicated that family SES influences the educational aspirations of the children (Bowden and Doughney 2009;Teachman 1987). For instance, Bowden and Doughney (2009) found that students from high-SES backgrounds have greater educational aspirations than their peers from low-SES backgrounds.…”