the realism and sex type of four- to five-year-old children's occupational aspirations

Abstract

Research on career development has focused primarily on adolescents and adults. However, in Gottfredson's theory of circumscription and compromise (2002) it is proposed that career aspirations originate in the preschool years and that the earliest work aspirations of children are sex typed in relation to the activities of same sex adults. This article investigates young children's career development in the context of Gottfredson's stage theory. Eighty-four children attending a kindergarten/early learning centre for four- to five-year-old children exhibited sex typing of their aspirations, with the vast majority nominating real occupational roles as opposed to fantasy ones, as aspirations for adult life. The pattern of boys' and girls' aspirations differentially support Gottfredson's proposals. Questions are raised concerning the stability of patterns of aspirations in terms of sex type in a changing society.

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" Occupational aspirations of Taiwanese preschool children

“…It seems likely that these children had some awareness of high visibility occupations like police officer, but little knowledge of lower visibility occupations like engineering technician. My findings are consistent with Gottfredson's theory and the findings of her previous studies (1981,2002), but they are inconsistent with the findings of Care et al (2007) that girls were less likely than boys to give fantasy responses. This may be the result of a group's idiosyncrasy or the small size of the sample in the study by Care and colleagues.…”

“…In his theory of circumscription and compromise, Gottfredson (2002) proposes that occupational aspirations originate in the preschool years, and suggests that occupational aspirations should be viewed as an integral part of social development and identity. Since occupational aspirations can be viewed as attempts to construct a preferred self-image, if the self-image is shaped by unrealistic or unattainable perceptions, there will be repercussions for the individual (Care, Deans, & Brown, 2007).…”

Aspirations for automobility: family geographies and the production of young people’s aspirations for cars

“…Some aspirations might be idealistic, abstract or hypothetical (with little thought for attainability), while other future pathways are held as concrete and achievable (Scanlon et al, 2008;Howley, 2009;Brown 2011). Research exploring children and young people's aspirations has tended to focus on educational aspirations (eg, Howley, 2009) or occupational aspirations (eg, Care et al, 2007). Strand and Winston's (2008) work summarises the many different influences shaping aspirations.…”

“…Schools, peer groups and broader media, institutional and cultural vehicles shape young people's inspirations (Strand and Wilson, 2008). Aspirations are also shaped by contextual factors (Hirschi, 2010), including gender (Care et al, 2007), class (Brown, 2011), ethnicity (DeWitt et al, 2013Strand and Winston, 2008) and disability (Scanlon et al, 2008).…”

The DIFFERENCES AND STABILITY OF CHILDREN’S CAREER EXPECTATIONS

“…However, the results of the research presented an inconsistent phenomenon. Research from Care et al (2007) demonstrated that four to five year old children of different genders had different career expectations and role playing abilities in fantasizing about the adult world. Low et al (2005) reported that in terms of career expectations, there was instability before one was 16 years old.…”