Journal Article

Socioeconomic status and the career aspirations of Australian school students : Testing enduring assumptions

Kathryn Holmes, Jennifer Gore, Max Smith, Jim Albright, Erica Southgate

2015

Overview

Recent Australian government targets for higher education participation have produced a flurry of activity focused on raising the aspirations of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. In this paper the authors test two key assumptions underpinning much of this activity: that students from low-SES backgrounds hold lower career aspirations; and that outreach activities appropriately target secondary school students, given that younger students' aspirations are relatively under-developed. Drawing on a sample of 3,504 students, the authors map the intersection of the career aspirations of students in Years 4, 6, 8, and 10 with SES and other demographic variables in order to contribute to the evidence base for academic, educational, and political work on access to higher education and the policies, practices, and outcomes that might ensue. Aspirations are assessed in terms of occupational certainty, occupational choice, occupational prestige, and occupational justification. They found fewer differences by year level and by SES than expected. Their analyses demonstrate both the complexity of students' career aspirations and some of the challenges associated with undertaking this kind of research, thus signalling the need for caution in the development of policy and interventions in this field. [Author abstract]

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands,Springer,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Academic Aspiration / Access to Education / Aspiration / Australia / Career Choice / Career development / Careers / Cohort Analysis / Colleges & universities / Demography / Developmental Studies Programs / Economically disadvantaged / Education / Educational Policy / Educational Policy and Politics / Educational Practices / Educational Psychology / Equal education / Foreign Countries / Higher education / Longitudinal Studies / Low Income Groups / Middle years / National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) (Australia) / Native students / Occupational Aspiration / Occupations / Outreach Programs / Participation / Policy formation / Politics / Predictor Variables / Primary school students / Primary secondary education / Schools / Secondary School Students / Socioeconomic background / Socioeconomic factors / Socioeconomic Status / Student attitudes / Student Educational Objectives / Student Participation / Student Surveys / Surveys / Teaching and Teacher Education / Universities / University students / Year 10 / Year 4 / Year 6 / Year 8