Familial and Economic Influences on the Gender-Related Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Rural Adolescents

Abstract

Economic, occupational, and social shifts in rural economies have influenced nuanced changes in the educational and occupational aspirations of rural adolescent women and men. However, there is limited contemporary research that examines the aspirations of rural adolescents at the beginning of the 21st century. Drawing on a sample of 8,756 rural adolescents in the United States, we examine how familial, geographic, and economic variables influence gender-related differences in educational and occupational aspirations. Findings revealed significant gender differences, favoring girls, in youth's educational aspirations, occupational aspirations, and aspirations for nontraditional careers. Results highlight the importance of contextual variables such as parental expectations, family income, and motivation variables in predicting gender-related aspirations of rural youth.

Career‐Related Parental Processes and Career Adaptability and Ambivalence Among Chinese Adolescents: A Person‐Centered Approach

“…Parents tend to socialize their children in an attempt to realize their own expectations, and thus, socialization goals are shaped by parents' personal beliefs and attitudes (Darling & Steinberg, 1993;Grusec & Goodnow, 1994). Consistent with this proposition, a notable body of research has indicated that parental career expectations, defined as parental attitudes and hopes for children's future occupational achievements, are associated with adolescents' career developmental outcomes, including career explorations, concerns, and indecisions (Leung, Hou, Gati, & Li, 2011;Meece, Askew, Agger, Hutchins, & Byun, 2014;Sawitri, Creed, & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2014;. In general, parents with higher (yet not extremely high) levels of career expectations tend to be more motivated and involved in providing children with career-related resources, guidance, and support to promote children's career aspirations, planning, explorations, and actions (Meece et al, 2014;Sawitri et al, 2014;.…”

“…To our knowledge, studies in this field have predominantly used variable‐centered approaches in analyses and examined the unique associations between different parental processes and child career developmental outcomes at the average level (i.e., examining the associations among variables at the entire sample level rather than further classify the entire sample into subgroups ) (e.g., Kanten et al., ; Leung et al., ; Li & Kerpelman, ; Meece et al., ; Sawitri et al., ; Sawitri et al., ; Sawitri et al., ). Although a number of important findings have been obtained from prior research, some questions cannot be addressed by utilizing variable‐centered approaches.…”

“…Extremely high levels of parental expectations may make children feel overwhelmed and experience confusion, indecision, and/or ambivalence when choosing career directions; in contrast, moderate levels of parental expectations may fuel children's motivation and promote their career aspirations, plans, and/or actions without invoking too much pressure (Leung et al., ; Meece et al., ; Sawitri & Creed, ; Sawitri et al., ; Sawitri et al., ). Thus, in addition to the other plausible characteristics, an optimal profile seems to be characterized by moderate rather than extremely high levels of parental expectations.…”

An Examination of the Expected Timing of Transitions into Adulthood among Rural Men and Women

“…Rural youth live in areas high in social capital with strong shared values and connections between families, schools, and religious institutions (Byun, Meece, Irvin, & Hutchins, 2012c;Elder & Conger, 2000). These connections are critical in shaping educational and residential aspirations for adulthood (Byun et al, 2012c;Elder & Conger, 2000;Johnson et al, 2005;Meece et al, 2014;Petrin, Farmer, Meece, & Byun, 2011).…”

“…We used a recent national survey of rural high school students, and paid particular focus to (a) gender differences in expected transition times, and (b) how the educational aspirations of rural men and women shape their transition times into adulthood. We focused on gender because it plays a key role in understanding the future expectancies of adulthood among young adults in rural areas (Blackwell & McLaughlin, 1999;Crockett & Beal, 2012;Crockett, Shanahan, & Jackson-Newsom, 2000;Meece, Askew, Agger, Hutchins, & Byun, 2014). Women today hold increasingly significant roles in the Strange, 2009;Lichter & Brown, 2011).…”