Secondary students’ access to careers information: the role of socio-economic background

Dockery, Alfred Michael; Bawa, Sherry; Coffey, Jane; Li, Ian

doi:10.1007/s13384-021-00469-1

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In contrast, the disadvantaged have a "weaker sense of the pathways from concrete wants to intermediate contexts to general norms and back again" (Appadurai, 2004, p. 69). For example, career guidance counselling may be poorer in schools serving disadvantaged students, leading to ill-informed educational and occupation aspirations (Dockery et al, 2021). In some disadvantaged schools, career counsellors and teachers may discourage students from pursuing elite degrees such as Medicine, because of the difficulty of the admissions requirements (Southgate et al, 2015).…”

Section: Aspirational Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultures of Success: How elite students develop and realise aspirations to study Medicine

Griffin

2022

Aust. Educ. Res.

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Despite decades of policies to widen participation in medical degrees, students selected for Medicine continue to reflect a socially elite group, rather than the diversity of the communities that graduates will serve. While research has documented experiences of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, this paper examines the “cultures of success” that enable advantaged students to gain entry to medical school. It documents how these students’ school and home environments enable the development and realisation of “aspirational capacity”. Aspirational capacity is not just about having a dream, but also the resources and knowledge to realise one’s dream. The paper also examines a negative side of a narrow aspirational focus. “Aspirational constriction” describes the premature foreclosure of career ambitions, which can have negative implications for both the students and for society, and for less advantaged students, who are effectively excluded from degrees such as Medicine.

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Section: Aspirational Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultures of Success: How elite students develop and realise aspirations to study Medicine

Griffin

2022

Aust. Educ. Res.

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“…Additionally, teachers have been identified as best placed to deliver careers activities (Welde et al, 2015 ), supporting the long-standing view of embedding careers education in the curriculum. Given the marked socioeconomic divide in the type and quality of career information available to students (Dockery et al, 2021 ) researchers have advocated for a whole school approach to “embed career education and development in curriculum/co-curriculum, beginning with exploratory activities in primary school and linking these to further exploration, reflection and adaptive goal setting in later years” (Keele et al, 2020 , p. 57) and developing a “curriculum that explicitly teaches students the ‘hidden’ discourses to navigate the world of work” (Austin et al, 2021 , p. 6).…”

Section: Career Education In the Australian Curriculummentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-designing a curriculum model for career education: perspectives from regional communities in Australia

et al. 2022

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The vocational experiences and skills of young adolescents could be infused into formal education by identifying career competencies to be taught within the academic curriculum. Such curriculum practices that embed educational and career pathways must also include the perspectives of students and the community, particularly those from marginalised groups. Drawing on data from 111 teachers, principals, carers and students, this paper presents research undertaken to co-design career education lesson plans within an infused model of the curriculum for early Middle Year students from regional, rural, and remote Australia. The lesson plans and activities were designed to allow for meaningful self-reflection and goal-setting that could be seamlessly infused into the formal curriculum and help embed early-stage career education. The paper concludes by projecting opportunities and challenges for seamless curriculum integration, while pertinent to the Australian context, can also be read with broader relevance to other educational systems and schools.

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“…The critical role of personal STEM experiences in shaping young people's interests, career perceptions and behaviours was also acknowledged 7 . In this regard, it is worth noting the concept of science capital…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The United Nations' 2030 Strategy for Sustainable Development envisions STEM education as the main driving force to uplift entire communities by bringing economic, health and cultural benefits, including gender equality and social mobility 4 . This puts a special emphasis on the quality and accessibility of STEM education, both within the school curriculum and as out-of-school experiences [6][7][8]. In Russia, 2021 was declared the year of science and technology and policies were introduced intended to help attract gifted and talented young people to STEM 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Schoolchildren’s Perceptions of STEM Professions and Careers in Russia: Results of a Pilot Study

Колесникова

Kudenko

2022

IntegrEdu

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Introduction. The world of work is undergoing a global shift fuelled by technological innovation, demographic changes and environmental problems. This heightens the demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) competencies which are seen as a catalyst for social and economic development. The purpose of this study was to investigate learner views on STEM professions, the learners’ overall attitudes regarding STEM, as well as their aspirations and willingness to choose a career in STEM and identify factors which are crucial in forming young people’s interests in studying STEM and pursuing STEM careers. Materials and Methods. This pilot study was conducted in May 2019 across three schools in the Moscow region. The authors used a slightly modified version of the learner questionnaire used by the European study “ECB-inGenious” to investigate perceptions of STEM careers among Russian learners in grades 8–9 and 10–11. Results. Overall, it was determined that a combination of intrinsic (cognitive and attitudinal) and extrinsic (social, cultural and economic) factors were responsible for learner engagement in STEM. Learners showed a strong awareness of STEM’s significance to society and displayed positive perceptions of STEM careers, although jobs in industry appeared less popular than those in other areas of STEM. Some factors, such as a learner’s personal experiences of STEM in and out of the classroom can even play a decisive role in shaping aspirations towards STEM careers. Younger learners expressed more enthusiasm for STEM careers than their older counterparts. Learners enrolled in classes specialising in STEM and learners whose parent(s) worked in STEM-related professions showed stronger positive attitudes to STEM careers. Discussion and Conclusion. To make an informed decision, learners require practical information and advice regarding STEM careers; schools can play an important role in this process. This guidance must begin early, ideally from primary school when learners are more enthused and interested in learning about STEM careers. It is also advisable for learners to be given more opportunities to join extracurricular STEM activities; consequently, a learner’s understanding of STEM subjects is expanded outside the academic curriculum which can spark a longlasting interest in the subject. Additionally, STEM subjects’ curriculums require enriching with real-life examples and should be contextualised in terms of relevant careers. Finally, schools should be encouraged to organise regular engagements with STEM professionals.

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Secondary students’ access to careers information: the role of socio-economic background

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

Cultures of Success: How elite students develop and realise aspirations to study Medicine

Cultures of Success: How elite students develop and realise aspirations to study Medicine

Co-designing a curriculum model for career education: perspectives from regional communities in Australia

Schoolchildren’s Perceptions of STEM Professions and Careers in Russia: Results of a Pilot Study

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