WHERE DO WE GO FROMHERE?THE ASPIRAnONS AND EXPECTAnONS OF THE GRADUATINGCLASSIN A RURAl ISLANDHIGHSCHOOL:SCIENCECURRIC Ul UM.INFORMATION TECHNOLOG IES.PARENTAl.COMMUNITY.AND OTHERFACTORS
OF INFLUENCE.
By
cCraigTucker.B.Se..B.Ed.
A thesis submittedto theSchoolof Graduate Studiesin partialfulfilmentofthe
requirements lorthedegreeof Masterof Education
FacultyofEducation MemorialUniversityofNewfoundland
April1999
St.John's Newfoundland
Abstract
This research was carriedoutto gainanunderstanding oftheeducational and careeraspiratio ns andexpectationsof studentsinthe graduatingclassfrom a rural schoo l on aremoteisland off thecoast of Newfoundland. Cana da.Anumber ofvariables. affectingaspirations and expectat ions. were exam ined. These included:thenumber and typeofsciencecoursestaken:themarks inthese courses:
theuse of the internetandother information technologies to gain career information: parental occupation and level ofeducati on; student use of teachers and guidancecounsellorsas careerresources;andtheroleof fam ilyin aid ing students.
To measure the aspirationallevelof aspired-tocareers. as well as expectedcareers.
two scales wereused. The GeneralEducational Development Scale(OED) and the SpecificVocationalPreparationScale(SVPl are both subscales of the Canadian ClassificationandDictionaryof Occupations,CCDOI. Forcareer aspirations.relatively highlevels ofaspiration were found tor both OEDand SVP values.Thesevalues were lower lorcareer expectations. PositiveSpearman'srho correlations werefound between GED and SVPlevelstor careeraspirationsand careerexpectations.
Significant Spearman's rhocorrelations werefound betweentheOED and SVP levelslorcareeraspirationsandexpectations.attainmentincertainscience courses.as well asanainmemin academicsciencecourses.Anegative correlationwas foundlor nonacademiccourses.
Findings indicated thattherewereno otherfactorsthathadstatisticallysignificant
com-lationswithle...etsof career aspirationsandexpectatio ns.However.a numberof ethertrendswerefoundinthedata.
Recommendationsbasedon these findings include ways bywhichrural students maybeexposed[0various non-local careeroptions.Theyalsoincludesuggestionsfor improvedguidance servicesinstudent career planning.
ACQ owledgcmcdls
The author wouldliketothank numerouspeople withoutwhosehelpthis research paper wouldnothave beenpossible. First,Iwouldlike10thank my supervisor.Dr.Ken Stevensforhis va luable guidanceandsupport during(his researchprocess.I wouldalsolike(0thank Mr.Gerrywhiteforhisinvaluable helpin running thestatistica lanalyses andforhisconstructivecriticisms duringthe writingprocess.Man>'thanksgo10me peoplewho edited thisdocumentincluding Mr.LeoMackay.Ms .CarinaHartely.andMr.Doug Furey.Specialmentiongoes out to Mr. JonathonBun forthe use ofhis computerand printingfac ilities as we ll as his expertise inpictureformatting and documentscanning. Thanksto Mrs.
Joanna Bunforherkindnessinallowing metointrudeon herho usehold.Thanks lor allthe coffee.Thanks toMr.NathanBatesforhisexpertiseon provincia l fisheriesmatters.Specialthanks go to both myparentsforall that theyhavedone sothat thisthesiscouldbeaccomplished.Finally.av~'special thanks tomywife KelleyFewerfor hereditingskills. moralsupportand lOrallowingmetocontinue thiswork duringthebinhandmedicalconcernsofourfirstchildNathan.
iv
Table ofContents
ABSTRACT _ _ii
ACKNOWlEDGEll.1ENTS iv
liST OFTABLES.. . viii
liSTOFFIGURES... . xvi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION..
GeographicalContext..
Histori..al Context...
EconomicContext..
SocialContext..
Statement of Problem..
Significance oftheStudy.
.
'
. 1
. 3
...8
. 9
. 12
.. 13
ResearchQuestions _ 15
CHA PTER2
L1ERATUREREVIEW. . 18
TheoriesofAspirations 19
TransitionResearch... .. 27
Factors AffectingAspirations... .. 34
SchoolandCurriculum... . 34
Home and Family..
Rural Factors..__.
GenderFactors..
CHAPT ER 3
.__...•_-l:::!
.-l9 54
METHODOLOGy _.._.._ 60
Sample Instrumen t...
ResearchProcedure,..
Data Analysis CHAPTER 4
EDUCATIONALANOCAREERASPIRATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS..
CHA PTE R S
ANSWERSTO RESEARCHQUESTIONS. CH A PT ER 6
..60 .__._.6 1
.67 68
.__..n
....9-l
FINDINGS.CONCLUSIONS ANDRECOMMEN DAT IONS 197
Findings andConclusions._. 197
Recommendations... ._._.. ...223
REFERENCES.. . 230
APPEND IX A: QUESTION AIRRE... . 240
APPENDIX B:LEITER TODIRECTOR__ _ 245
vi
APPENDIXC,LETTERTO PARENTS.. . _ ~-I7 APPENDIXD,EXPLANATIONS OFTIlE LEVELSOF GENERAL
EDUCATIONALDEVELOPMENT(GEDlAND SPECIFIC VOCATlONAL PREPARAnON (SVP) _..2019
vii
List
or
TablesPage t.Table3. t :Identification.Gender. Written Responsesand
ResponseCodesfor QuestionS12.WhatDoYou NeedTo Do[nOrder To Have ThisPerfect Job? .._ _..69 _. Table3.2: AssignedValueLabelsfor QuestionS12.What DoYou
Need ToDoInOrder To HaveThisPerfectJob?... . ....69
J. Table 3.3: Value Labelstor QuestionSt4 -WhatAre YouGoing to beDoin g at theEndofthisSchool Year or the Beginning
oftheNextSchoolYear? 70
.I.Table 4.1:Frequencyof IndustrialAspirations.,. ..73 5. Table4.2:Frequencyof CareerAspirat ions... ..74 6.Table 4.3:Frequencies ofValues torGEDandSVPlevels for
StudentAspirations ... .75
7.Table4.4:FrequencyofIndustrialAspirations.Respondents'
SecondChoice. .76
N.Table4.5:Frequencyof SecondChoiceCareerAspirations.,. 76 9.Table 4.6:Frequencies of Valueslor GED andSVPlevels
forSecondChoiceStudentAspirations. 77
10.Table 4.7:Studen t Responses10Question S12:WhatDo
YouNeedtodoinOrdertoHaveThisPerfec tJob? 7R II .Table 4.8:FrequencyofIndustrial Expectations... .79 12.Table 4.9:Frequencyof Career Expectations. . ....81 13.Table 4.10:Frequenciesof ValuesforGEDandSVP
Levels for Student Expectations... ..82
viii
I~,Table 4.11:Frequencyof Industrial Occupationa l
Expectations :Respondents'Second Choice,.. 83 15.Table4.1:!: Frequency of Second ChoiceCareerExpectations. . . 8~
16.Table 4.13:Frequ encie s ofValues forGED and SVP levels
forSecondCho ice CareerExpectation s.,. 84
17.Table 4.14 :Student Response s10Question St4-WhatAre You Going to do at the Endof this Schoo l Year or the Beginning
oftheNext School Year'?,... . 85
18. Table·U5: Current Educationaland/orCareer
Status of Respondents.. .86
19 .Table 4.16:MajorIndustrial GroupsCareer Aspirations
by Career Expectations 88
:!O.Table 4.17:Correlation between theGEDValues for Aspiratio ns and Expectations...
:!l.Table 4.18:MeansandStandard Deviationslor GED Aspirationsand Expectation s.
1::.Table-t. Ic:Correlationbetweenthe SVP Values tor AspirationsandExpectations.
13.Table4.20 :MeansandStandard Deviations for SVP Aspirations andExpectations ...
91
...91
. .. ... ...n
.... .... 92 2·1-. Table 5.1:Co rrela tionbetweenGED Aspiration sand Science
Course Averaees.TotalScience Cred its.Academic Science
Credits.and N-onacademicScienceCredits 94
15.Table5.:!:CorrelationbetweenSVP Aspirationsand Science CourseAverages.TotalScience Credits. Academic Science
Credits.andNonacademicScienceCredits... 97
ix
26.Table5.3:Correlationbetw eenGEDExpectations and Science Course Averages.TotalScience Credits. AcademicScience
Credits. andNonacademic ScienceCredits. . 99
27.Table5.~:Correlation between SVPExpectaricns and Science CourseAveraees. TotalScienceCredits.Academic Science
Credits. and NonacademicScience Credits 101
28.Table5.5:StudentResponses toQuestion SchI-What Types ofThingsInfluenced YourDecisiontoTake One
CourseOver AnOlher?... . 1~
29.Table5.6:StudentResponsestoQuestionSch2a -How HaveAnyCoursesThatYou HaveDone Helped in Future
CareerPlans?.... 106
30.Table5.7:Helpfulnessof Course Offeringsby GED for
CareerAspirations.... . 107
jl.Tuble 5.8:Helpfulness of CourseOfferingsbySVP
for Career Aspirations... ..108
31.Table 5.9:Helpfulness ofCourse Offerings byGED forCareer
Expectauonsv ._ 109
33.Table 5.10:Helpfulnessof Course Offerings bySVPfor
Career Expectations... .110
3~.Table 5.11: Participation in Extra-CurricularActivities
byGEDforCareerAspirations.. III
35.Table 5.12:Participationin Extra-CurricularActivities
bySVPforCareer Aspirations... ....113
36.Table5.13:ParticipationinExtra-CurricularActivities
byGED forCareerExpectations.... . 11~
37.Table5.14:ParticipationinEXira-CurricularActivities
bySVPforCareerExpectations.j . 115
38.Table:5.15:ParticipationinInformationSessionswiththe
Guidance Counselor byGEDforCareer Aspirations __ I16 39.Table5.16:Panicipationin InfonnationSessionswith the
GuidanceCounselor bySVPforCareerAspirations II g -40.Table5.17:Participationin InfonnationSessionswiththe
GuidanceCounselorb~·GEDforCareer Expectations... 119 -41.Table5.18:Pen iciparioninInformation Sessions with the
Guidance CounselorbySVP for CareerExpectanons.; . 120 42.Table5.19:TeacherInfluencebyGEDforCareerAsp irations. .121 -l3.Table5.20:TeacherInfl uencebySVPforCareerAspirations. . .113
~4.Table 5.11:TeacherInfluence by GEDfor CareerExpectations. 12~
45.Table5.21:TeacherInfluencebySVPforCareerExpectations 115
~6.Table5.13:levelofEducationalAttainment forSubjects'Parents...126 .li. Fable5.24:Fathers"Educational Attainment bvGED
lorCareerAspirations. . . 128
.l8. Table 5.15:Fathers"EducationalAttainmentbvSVPtor
Career Aspirations... . .. ...119
.l9.Table 5.16:Fathers'EducationalAttainmentbyGED for
CareerExpectations.. . 130
50. Table527:Fathers'Educationa l Attainment bvSVPtor
CareerExpectations... .
51.Table5.28:Mothers' Educational Attainment by GED for CareerAspirations ...
51.Table 5.29:Mothers'Educationa l Attainment by SVPfor CareerAspirations...
III
...lll
. 13.l
53.Ta ble5.30: Mothers ' Education alAttainmentbv GED for
Career Expectanons.j . .._t}6
5..L Table5.31: Mothers'EducationalAttainmentbv SVPfor
Career Expectatices.j . ..137
55.Table5,32:Major Industrial Groups Career Aspirations by
Fathers'Industries.... . 140
56,Table5.33: Major Industrial GroupsCareerAspirationsb~
Mothers ' Industries.... 143
57.Table 5.34: MajorIndustrial GroupsCareerExpectationsby
Fathers' Industries. 145
58,Table5.35: MajorIndustrial Groups Career Expectationsb~
Mothers'Ind ustries. 1.8
59,Table5.36:Fathers'GED levelsbyStudents'GED levelsfor CareerAspirations andCareer Expectations.. I••
60.Table5.37:Fathers'SYPLevels byStudents"SYPlevelstor CareerAspirations and Career Expectations, 150 61. Table 5.38:Mothers GED levelsby Students' GEDlevelslo r
CareerAspirations and Career Expectations, ..150 62.Table 5.39: Mothers ' SVP levels by Student,'SVP leve ls for
Career Asp irationsand CareerExpectations. 151 63.Table5.40: FamilyInfluencebyGED for Career Aspirations. ...IS:!
64. Table5.4 1:Family Influence:bySYPlorCareerAspirations 153 65.Table 5.42:Family Influence byGEDfor Career Expectations 154 66,Table 5.43: FamilyInfluence bySVP for CareerExpectatio ns 156 67. Table5.44:HowFamily MembersHelped WithFuture Plans 157
xii
68.Table5.45:MediaInfluenceby QEDto r Career Aspirat ions 158 69 . Table 5.46:Med iaInfluen ce bySV P forCareerAspirations... 160 70.Table5A7:Med iaIntl uence byQEDforCare erExpectatio ns. 161 71. Table5A8:Medi aInfluencebySVPtor Caree rExpectations... 162 72.Table 5.49:How theMediaHaveHelpe d in Educat ional
and CareerPlans. 163
73.Table5.50: ComputerUseby QEDforCareerAspirations.. .. ... ...164 74.Table5.51:ComputerUse l'lySVPlor CareerAspirations. 165 75. Table5.52:Comp uter Use byGEDlor Career Expect atio ns . 166 76 .Table 5.53:Com puterUse by SVP forCaree rExpectations. ... .167 77.Table 5.54:Comp uter andinternetusebyGEDlor
CareerAspiratio ns. 169
78.Table 5.55:Computer and Interne t use bySVPlor
Career Aspirations. 170
79 Table 5.56:Compu terandInterne t use byGED lor
CareerExpectatio ns. 171
80.Table5.57 :Computer andInternetusc bySVP lor
CareerExpectat ions... ....172
81.Table5.58 :Gender Differenceslor Majo rIndustrialGroupings
lor Career Aspirations. . J74
82.Table5.59: GenderDifferen ces lor MajorIndustrial Groupings
lorCareerExpectat ions.. . 175
83. Table5.60:Gender Differences forCar eerAspirations _ 177 84.Table5.6 1:GenderDifferencesforCar eerExpectations... 179
xiii
85.Table5.62: GenderDifferencesfor GEDCareer Aspirations
by GED forCareerExpectations.,. . _ 180
86.Table5.63:Gende r Differences forSVP CareerAspirations
bySVPforCareerExpectations... .__ 181
87.Table5.64: MeansandStandardDeviationsforGE D
Aspirationsand Expectationslor Males._ 181
88.Table5.65:Meansand Standard Deviations forSVP
Aspirations and Expectationsfor Males... . ... .182 89. Table5.66:MeansandStandardDeviations to r OED
AspirationsandExpectationslor Females... ....182 90. Table 5.67: Means and StandardDeviations torSVP
Aspirations andExpectations lor Females._.. 183 91.Table 5.68:MeanslorGEDAspirations.SVPAspirations.
OEDExpectationsandSVPExpectationsby Oender... ..183 92.Table5.69:AnalvslsofVarianceSourceTable to rGED
Aspirations and Gender. 18.J
93. Table5.70:Analvsisof VarianceSourceTablelor SVP
Aspirations andGender. IS~
9.J Table 5.71:AnalvsisofVarianceSourceTa blelor GED
Expectationsand'Gender. 185
95.Table5.71:Analvsis of Variance SourceTablelo r SVP
Expectationsand-Gender... 185
96.Table5.73:CorrelationalBreakdownby Genderfor GED Aspirationsand Science Course Averages.TotalScience Credits. Academic ScienceCredle.andNonacademic Science
Credits.. 187
97.Table5.7~:CorrelationalBreakdownbyGenderforSVP AspirationsandScienceCourse Averages.Total Science Credits.AcademicScience Credits.and NonacademicScience
Credits. . _ 188
98.Table5.75:CorrelationalBreakdown by Genderfor GED Expectationsand ScienceCourse Averages.Texal Science Credits.AcademicScience Credits. and Nonacademic Science
99.Credits 1Q()
100.Table5.76:Correlational Breakdown by Genderfor SVP ExpectationsandScienceCourse Averages.TOIalScience Credits. Academic Science Credits. andNonacademic Science
Credits.. 191
10 1.Table 5.77:Comparisonof CareerChoice ResponseFrequencies. 193 101.Table5.78:Frequency Comparisonof Ind ustrial
OccupationalAspirations.. 19-1
103.Table5.79:FrequencyComparisonofPlans fo r NextYear... 195
Listof Figures I.Figure1.1 :North America...
, Figure1.1:TheIslandofNewfoundland...
xvi
. 1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
The purposeof thisstudywere to examinethe educationa laspirationsand expectationsalongwith the careeraspirationsand expectationsof studentsinthe graduatingclass of aruralhigh school situated in an isolated NewfoundlandIsland area. Factors affectingaspirationsand expectationswereexamined.TheIsland area lies off the eastcoast ofNorthAmerica.In order to gainan understanding of thesituationaffectingthese graduates.itisimportanttodescribethegeographical.
historical.economic.and socialcontextsoftheir lives.
GeographicalContext
Newfoundlandand Labrador.oneotCanada'stenprovinces.is locatedon the east coast ofNorth America(seeFigure 1.11.
Figure\.INonhAmerica
Theprovince consists of two majorregions. the islandof Newfoundland and the mainlandregioncalledLabrador.which are partofcontinentalNorth America. The island of Newfoundland is situated in the NorthAtlantic andlies between 44"and52" North latitude and between 52"and 60"West longitude(see Figure1.2).
Thesamplesitecalled"the Island"lies offNewtoundlands northeastcoast near the 50thparallel. Thus.it is anisolated island off anisolated island. The Island has an areaof 182 km-with10small communitiesaroundthecoast. Its coastline is barrenandrockywith numerous smallcoves andinletsproviding limitedshelter fromthestrongwindsandhighseasthatfrequentlybarter the shores of theIsland. Theinteriorof theIsland isacombinationof rockysoil.
mossybog.andsmall.forested areas containing mainly coniferoustreessuchas balsam fir.black spruce.whitespruce. and larch. Thepoor rocky soil and the
rough seas causethe environmentto be harsh.andhistoricallyithasbeena struggletoekeoutaliving from either.
Inorderto prov ide a context lorthe understandingoftheaspirations and expectat ionsofthe young peoplefrom this isolated Island.abriefhistorica l overviewof Europeansettlementand educationalservices willbegiven.
Historical Contes t
John Cabot wasthefirst European tovisnNewfoundlandin1~97"At that time.it\vasnoted thatthewatersaroundtheisland ofNewfound landwere teeming withcodfis h. Thisdiscover:'led tothevastEuropeanfisher: that has occurredin Newfoundlandwaters eversince" Duringthe1500and 16oo·s.
settlement was disco urag ed andsometimes nOIallowed. Thus.only asummer lisher:"occu rred.Ships leftthe European cities.inparticula r.Poo le and Bristolin Englandand Waterford inIreland. as well asportsin Spain. Portugal.and France tolake partin this summerfishery.Theyarrivedin Newfoundlandinthe spring andcaught the cod lis hallsummerlong.Salling anddryingiton woodenracks calledflakespreservedthefishlor transport backtoEuropeinthefall.Onlyafeu landsmen were left behindtolookafter thesmallboats. stages(small wooden fishingsheds combinedwith wharves) andothersmall buildingsduringthe winter.
sothat theywouldbereadylorthereturning fishing fleet the next spring.
,
Numerousdisputes arosebetween England andFranceoverland ownership as well as fishing rights duringthose earlyyearsin Newfoundland'shistory.Both countriesclaimedareas of the prov ince.and setup armoredgarrisonstoprotect their citizensand territories. Oneof the firstattemptsbytheBritish tolayoffi cia l claimto Newfoundland was by an Englishadmiral.Sir Humphrey Gilbertin1583.
He claimedNewfoundlandin the name of QueenElizabethIin thepresenceof militaryand naval personnel. as well as fishingcaptains trom [he various Europeancountries.This ceremo nylookplaceinthe settle mentof St.John's.00\\
the provincialcapital. Thisclaimwasettendisputed over thenext~OOyears (Prowse. 1972).
In 1713with.the signingof theTreaty ofUtrecht between France and England.Englandgainedfullownership ofNewfoundlandbut accorded France certainfishin g privilegesin designatedcoastal areas. Thus. Newfoundland became an official British possession. Settlement regulations were strictly initiatedandcontrolledby Britainuntil 1832.Then RepresentativeGovernment was establis hedgivingNewfoundlande rslimitedcontroloverthe irown affairs.
with many aspects of governancecoming from Great Britain. In 1855 Newfoundlandwas given Responsible Governmentwithalmosttotal controlover its ownaffairs (Prowse. 1972). Thissystem continued until 1934 when Newfoundland became bankrupt and a Commission of Government was establishedwith an EnglishGovernor.threeNewfound landerCommissioners and
three EnglishCommissioners. Electionstopublic off icewere completely abolished.Thissystemcontinued until Newfoundland enteredimoConfederation with Canadain194 9.Newfoundland hadcontrol of itsfisher~.. from 1855 to19-19.
However.thisendedwhenCanadawas givencontrol of themainfisheries operations suchassetting fish quotas: the distributionoflicensesforfishingin Cana dianwaters; enforcementoffisheryregulationsinside Canada's two hundred mile limit:andresourcemanagement strategies(Nathan Bates.pers.comm.. 19991. The history ofsettle mentonthe Islandiscloselytiedto the historyof Newfoundlan d.Despiteearly restrictions byBritain. limited settlementbeganin the1500's asmorepeoplesought employmeminthe Newfoundlandfishery.and wordof thepossibilitieslor landand freedom fromfi nancialoppress ionspread.
Manyyoung meninEngland were enterin g the flsberyasameansto escapethe ruleoftheBritishlandowners whereemploymentopponunitieswere oftenas limitedas thatof serffarmers.Small fishingcommun ities sprang up allover Newfoundland invarious baysand coves.Thefirsttown onthe Is land was one suchsettlement.Thisfirsttownhada goodharbourand itwas relative ly neal' primefishing grounds. The firstrecordof permanentsettlement wasin 1697:
however.recordsindicatethatsummer settlementOCCUlTedbefore this (Donahue.
198 7).
like manysma llcommunitiesaroundNewfoundlandduring thistime.
mainlyWest CountryEnglishfishermen and their fami liessettledon the bland.
,
Each such communityalsohadamerchantfami lywhobought thetishfromthe fishermaninexchangeforfood andfishing supplies.TheSladefamily fromPoole in Englandisthefirst recordedmerchantfamily ontheIsland. Theysetup businessin themid1700's andcontinued10operateintothelate1860 ' s.whenthe businesswastaken overb~'theEarlefamily. Barteringandtradeoftenleftthe fishermenindebtedtomemerchantfromoneyeartothenext.Inmanyways. It also provided asubsistence living.BaneringcontinuedontheIsland untilJ967 whenthe Earle familyclosed down the business. After1967. a Fishermen's Cooperativeorganized and ran the fish plants. buyingandselling varietie sof fish fromthelocal fishermen(Donahue.1987).
The historyof education inNewfoundland beganinthe earlydays of settlementwiththearrivalofchurch missionaries fro m England andIreland.
Schools developed as servicesofthe churches. which assumedresponsibilities fIX educatingmembersoftheirown denominations.withgovernment grants assigned tothoseparticipatingchurches. There fore.therewasasystemof church- controlledschoolswithlimited governmentlegislativeCOntrol. By thetime New foundlandentered confederation withCanada.mostof IheotherCanadian provinceshadevolved10public schoolsystems. But under section93ofthe BritishNorth America Actof1867.protection wasgiventocertain religious rights of Canadianschools .Newfoundland.aspart of itsTenDSofUnion withCanada.
choseto continuetooperateunderadenominational schoolsystem. The
following churches operatedtheirO\\TIdenominational schoolsystemsat the time of confederation in 1949: Roman Catholic. Anglican. United Church.
Presbyte r ian.Salvation Army.andPentecosta l.In1% 9. allthe existingchurches whichoperatedschools.except theRoman Catholicand the Pentecosta l. choseto amalgamate educationalservices. This ledtotheIntegratedschoolsystemin which theparticipatingchurcheshadequalresponsibilityforthe operation oftheir schools.So.thereremainedthreesystemsof educationinNewfoundland.namely the Roman Catholic.the Pentecostal and theIntegrated.This system continuedto operate up until1997whenBill17 was passedinthe Canadian Parliament.at the request of the Government of Newfoundland and labrador. that ended denominationalcontrol oftheschools. At thistime.changesweremadeto existingschoolboardsreducing thenumberfrom17 to9.
Itis interestingtonotethat on theIsland. thethreedenominationalschool systems:Roman Catholic.Integrated.and Pentecostalhadcome together10fonn a singleschoolsystem15~·earsprior10provincialamalgamation.Up until1973.
eachofthe tensmallcommunities had theirowndenominationalschools.Thus.il typical communitywouldhavehad bothaRomanCatholic andanIntegrated school.Itwasrecognized that the cost of operatingmany smallschoolswasnot feasiblehence the comin gtogetherof all the community highschools into one.
For atime.eachcommunitycontinuedtohavedenominationalprimary and elementaryschools.but this.too.changed in 1987with the construction of a
,
regional elementary schoolattachedtothehighschool. Atthe time of this amalgamation.there was muchdisputeo...-er theproposed sitelorthenewhigh school.Aller manydebates .itwasdecided toplace theschoo lin the center of the Island, aneutral site.
Aspirationsand expectations ofyoungpeople can nOIbeexaminedin a vacuum.In ordertounderstandthese aspirationsand expectations.itisnecessary tohaveanunderstandingofthe economicclimate towhichthesestudentsan:
exposed.
EconomicContext
FormostofNewfoundland'shisrory.the cod fisheryhasbeenthefocal point of the economy. Inrecentyears.therehavebeendrasticchangesto the structureand operationof thecod fishery. In the late1980' sand early1990'5.
scientistsfrom
me
FederalDepartment of FisheriesandOceansmade note ofthe factthatthesizeofthe cod stoc ksweredwindling andthatcaremustbetakenin the managementofthisresource.OnJuly::"".199:!. in lightof thecontinued declineofthecod populations.the FederalGovernmentannouncedatwo-year moratoriumofthecommercialfishingofcodfish inmost of thewatersofT the coastofNew foundland.Asaresult of a furthercensusofthe cod fishery.which indicated a declineofthe codstoc ks.the moratorium wasextendedto fiveyears andinc ludedallwaterssurro undingthe islandof Newfoundland and waters ofT·
coasta llabrador.During:thislime.the only legalfish ingofcod was as partofth e censusprogramknown asthesentinelfisher~v.
The codmoratorium caused the loss of approximately11.000 jobsboth directlyand indirectlyrelated tothefishery.In an attempt10providesupportfor thesedisplacedworkers. theFederalGovernmentinitiatedthe NorthernCod AdjusunemandRecovery Program(NCARP). In199~. this program was replaced bythe AtlanticGroundfish Strategy(TAGS). Both NCARP andTAGS were programsdesignedto offer financ ialassistance10displaced fisherywor kers and atthe same time encouragethese workerstoseekretrainingforpositions.
pre ferablyoutsidethefishing indust ry. TAGS fundingended asof December 1998.Thelatest Governmentinitiativeinvo lvedthepurchasing:ofcodlicensesin an attempttoreducethe numbers ofactivecodflsherpeopte who wouldbe reenteringthe:codfisheryshouldthe:codstockseventuallyrebound
SocialConln l
Geographicisolation.historica lreliance:on thefishery. andtheeconomic realitiesthateach hascreated aresomeoft he many factorsthatinfluence the: lives ofstudents on theIsland.
One ofthe main challengesthatstudentslace duringtheirschooli ngisthe dauntingtaskofmakingplansfor theirfuture. Theseincludeplansforpost secondary educatio n.plansfora specific careerpath.orplansto enter the work
to force as soonas possible.Forstudentsinisolated. rural locations. there an:many factors that makethe planningordecision-makingprocessmore difficult. The realityof me situationforstudents enrolledinsmall.isolated. ruralschoo ls.asis thecaseon the Island. isquite complex.
Geographic isolation limitsstudentaccess to educationa lopportunities.
Libraryresourcesarelimited. asisaccess to the internet. There islink opportunitytogainexperience and exposure toeducationalactivities 011"the Island. such as museumvisits. access to cultural activities.exposure tothe universityaswell as otherpost secondary institutionstoname alew. Many students rarelyleave the Island. and most that havedone sodonot traveltar.
Consequ ent ly.theirviewsof the world.andthe opportun ities therein.arcquite etten narro w.In manyinstances. television istheonly means of off-Islandcontact thatthesestudents receive.other than thoseexperiencesreceived from school activities.
Most families haverelied on thevario us fisheriesformany generation s.
Traditionallythere have been two major fisheries
tor
the people of the Island:cod andcrab.Theinfluenceofthe codmora toriu mandthe resu ltant move ontothe NCARP and thenthe TAGSprogram . asa meansof suppo rt for smallinshore flsberpersons. hasmeantalowered incomeand hardsh ipfor the majority of lis herpeopleon the Island. A Fewinvolvedin the largeboat crab fisheryhave managed tocontinue tomakelargesumsofmoney asevidenc edbythe numberof"
newhomes beingbuiltand vehiclesbeingbought. Evennow.many students belie,re that thecrab fisherywillbetheir means ofsuppon. Thisbelief is supportedby'the factthatsome students makea great dealof moneyinthe summer crabfishery while ouiers alsomakealiving working in thefish plant.
processingcraborothe rspecies throughouttheyear.Thisleads toaquestion of the perceivedrelevanc eofschoolin general.or certainty.the needtoracademic excellence among a certainsecrorof highschoolstudents.
Anotherconcernwithregardtolivingin anisolatedruralsettingisthat there arcverytewcareeroptionsavailableontheIsland.Hence. studentsdo not gainexperienceorexposureto themyriadof career options that are actually ava ilableto them01TtheIsland. Thisis important,especiallyin light ofthe limitedfisheries-rela tedcareerstherewillbeinthefuture.becauseofthe Federal
Gcvernmentslicense buy-back initiatives.
Out-migrationhas always beena concern forthisIsland :however.itis happening atanever-increasingpace. This leadsto fewerpostsecondary graduatesreturningtofindmeaningfulemployment.a fact nOImissed by those stillintheschoolsystem.Alackof youngprofessionalrolemodelsforstudents 10 follow.with careers towhich studentscanaspire.mayaffectstudent educational andcareeraspirations.
Forthose:studentswithplans to enter post secondary institutions.barriers suchasincreasingtuition.increasin gentrancerequirements.aswellas increased
"
compemionforthelimited spaceincertainprogramscan affect the choices(hal students make regardingtheir future.
With the increaseinentrance requiremen ts aswell as theincreased competition forplaces in variouspost-secondaryprograms.a newphenomen on is emergingwhichmaybea cause forconcern. Moreand more levelIII(thefinal yearofhigh school]students arereturning10schoolforafurtheryear inorder to improvemarks so as tomeetnew higher entrancerequirementslor post-seconda ry institutions. This may be an indicationthatstudents areaffectedbytheabove changes.
SI31e m cn CorProblem
Theprocessesbywhichhighschoo lstudentsdevelop goalsfortheir futures.bethshort-termi.e.enteringpostsecondary education. or entering the workforc e: andlon g-term.i.e.aspirations(oraparticularcareer. areamongthe most important thatthestudents willmake during their lifetimes. Thus.itis important to try to developa pictureof the se aspirationsas well as an understandingofthosefactors which mayinfluence the pathsthatstudentstakein arriving attheir educationaland/orcareergoals.
Studentaspirationsand thetransitionfrom sc hooltoworkhavebeen widely stud iedand discussed intheliterature.however.therehas beenrelatively littleworkdonewithrespecttoruralsenin gs. in part icular.rural Ncwfoundland.
l3 There have beena few exceptions. suchas: the:Youth Trans ition intotlscLabour Market study prepared by Sharpe: and Spain (l99[a. 1991b): Ed ucational Pathw aysand Experiences of Newfound landYou threportby SharpeandWhite (1993): and InitialTransition From Hig hSchool.Decis ionsand Asp irations of RuralNewf oundla ndand Labrador YOUlhmastersthesisby Emma Genge(1996).
The Sharpe andSpain studieswereinitiallycarriedoutin1989 with follow-up studiesinthe winterof[990-9(carriedout by SharpeandWhite. Sincethis longitudinal studyisnow almost tenyears old.itseems timelythat someofthese factorsbe readdressedinlightof the differing economicclimatesfromthe pastto the present. The mastersthesiscarriedout byGenge examined the"students' perspectiveon the degreetowhichthey perceivedthese factorsinfluencingtheir immediate careerplans" (Genge. [9961.
The purposeofthis researchis to determinethe educationalplans.career aspirationsandcareer expectations oflevelIIIstudentsand10examinethose realitieswhichhave affectedthe educationaland career decisions of thesestudents intheisolatedschoolsettingor theIsland.
The Significanceof the Siudy
Thesignificanceofthis studyis thatit identifiesandexamines factors whichaffectstudenteducationalandcareeraspirationsandexpectations. An understanding of those factorswillenable educationalpolicymakers.school
"
administrato rs.and reacherstodevelopand implement curriculawhichwill better servestudentsasthey attemptto make plans for their future.
Intrying to developstrategiesto helpyoungpeoplearrive atvaluable.
realistic optionsfortheir futureplans. eitheras they immediatelyenterthe work force.or as theyenter andadvancethroughpost-seconda ryinstitutions.it becomes nec essarytoreducators togainanunderst anding of thosefactors which have significantim pactonhowtheseyoung peopleactually develo p andarriveat their chosencareer aspirations. According 10Walberg(1989). "Aspirations aTC important becausethey guide what studentslearn inschoo l. how they preparetor adultlite. and\....hat theyeventua lly accomplish"(p.I). This studyexaminesa numberof these factorsasthey occurspecificallyinanisolated ruralsetting.It supportsfindings(hal thereare differencesbetweenyouthinruralsettingsand youth in urban settings.in termsof theirmove fromschool to work:the: social contextin \\'hichthistales place:andthe optionsthatareavailabletoeach (Genge.1996:Looker.1993:Wilson.1991}.
Newtocndtand.particularly ruralareas. continues tohave the highest unemployment rates inall ofCanada. Thisisdue.inpart.tothecontinuedcod moratorium affecting theability offlsherpeople10return totheirtraditional FederalGovernment licensebuy-back initiatives will decrease the numbersof people abletoreturn10 this traditional meansof employment.Thus.
in order forrural Newfoundlandto dealwiththehigh unemploymen trates.
"
traditionaldependenceonthe Employme ntInsurance andwelfaresystems.those enteringtheworkforce inthe futuremusthave a differentoutlookintermsof career andeducational aspirationsthanpeople didinthe past.Inorderto attempt chan ge. we must first understandthosefactors which determ ineaspiration s so that educators at theschool.board.. anddepartment levels can adjustcurricula.
guidanceservices. andthe use of in forma tiontechnologytoaid the rural students' decision-ma kingprocess."Educators canbetterplan theirpoliciesandpract icesif
they understandcurrentyouth asp irations" (Walberg. 1989.p.1).
Research Questions
The majorresearchquestionis:what arethe educational.aswellasthe ...areerexpectations and aspirations a/youth fromgeographica/(\"isolatedrural islandcommuruues? Thesubsidiary questionsareorganizedto look.nthe factors, which affectstudentscareer and educational aspiratio ns.They include:
IICurri culum:
alHowdoesacademicachievement in science relate10both career and educatio nalexpectationsand aspirations?
b1Howdostudents makeuse of school-based resourcesto obtain career informa tion.andistherea relationship betweentheuse of this information and career/educational expectations and aspirations? (School -based
"
resourcesinclude:teachers.course offerings.guidancecounselors.career faira.etc.}
a) What are therelationshipsbetween the parents'level of educational attainmentandstudents'career'educnionatexpectationsandaspirations':' hi Whatistherelationship betweenparental occu pation and the career and-or
educationalaspiratio nsofthe irchildren'?
c)What aretherelationshipsbetweenlevelsof parentalor significantothers' involveme ntandstudents'career-educational expectati onsand asp irations'?
31 Mediaand Intormarion Technology:
31How domediasourcessuch as television.radio.printed material.andthe internet play a role: instudents"career-educa tional expectationsand aspirations':'
btDostudents haveaccessto careerand educationalinformation.particularly throughthe media and infonn ationtechnologysuchasthe internet?
~)Gender differences:
a) Are theredifferencesbetweenmalesandfemalesfortheabove-mentioned factors'?
I' 5) Youth in transitionstudy:
a) Are theredifferencesbetweentheresults obtained from thiscurrent research study and thoserelevant aspects foundinthe 1989 }'o urh Trans itioninto the Labour Marlcet(YTlM)project':'
CHA PT ER 2
LITERA TUREREVI EW
This chapteroutlines researchinto those factors whichaffect studentcareer and-oreduca tiona l expectationsand aspirations. Otherlamshaveettenbeenused concerningresearch onexpecta tions andaspirations.Sincetheseissuesare related tothe seriesof changesthat adolescence or youn gadultsgothroughas theyleave schoo l toenter POSIsecondaryeducationor enterthe workforce. theterm transitionhasbecomerecognizedinthe research. Other related terms.such as school- to-wo rktransitionorschool-to-employ menttransitionfrequently occuras well(Dory.1994:Hektner.1995:Nichols.199..:Owens. 199::!: Powlene&
Young.1996:Way&Rossmann. 1996:West&Penkowsky.(994).Otherterms
whichrelatetostudentcareer oreducationalaspirationsinclude career choice.
career development. vocational aspirations. occupational cho ices. and occupationa laspiratio nsICob b.Mcintire .&;Pratt.1989;Conroy.1997;Eccles.
199~:Plata.1981:walace-Brosciccs.Seraflca.&;Osipow. 19941.Thus. thereisa wide arrayofliteratureon theserelated topics .
Othertermshavealien been usedforcareers. Termssuchas work.
employme nt.jobs.and occupationsarefou ndthrou ghout the litera ture all re ferring tothesameconce pt.nam ely that ofone'slifewor korprofession(Conroy.1997;
Post. Williams.&Brubaker.1996:Powlette&Young.1996:Wilson&Fasko.
"
1992). Forthe purpose of thisthesis theauthor usesmanyofthese terms interchangeably.
TheoriesofAspira tio ns
Muchof the researchonstudent aspirationstends to locus on differencesbetweenaspirationsand expectations.Inorder10understand some of thismaterial.itis important10recognizethe differencesbetween aspirationsand expectations. Quaglia (1989) emphasized the fact that aspirations are multidimensional and "cannot besimply defined asindividua ldreamsor ambitions"(p.7).He notedthatvarious aspectsmustbetakeninto account:these include"educational.vocational.andqualityofliteissues"(p.7). Quagliaand Cobb(\996)madenoteof thetactthatwhiletheterm"student aspirations" is etten used ineducation,..thereislittle understandingand agreementas 10 what it means andeven lessunderstanding:about itsorigin"(p. 1271. In theirpaper,the~
traced the history ofthetermin ordertodevelopa comprehensivemeaning.
Usingconcepts from achievementmotivationtheory andsocialcomparison theory they defined aspirations as"astude nt'sability to identifyandsetgoalstor the future, while beinginspired in thepresent to worktowardthosegoals"(p.130l, Cobb.Mcintire,andPratt(1989)described aspirationsas those thingsthat"drive individualsto domore and bemorethantheypresentlyare"(p.12),They also madenoteofthe distinctionsbetween.and interdependence upon.thevarious typesof aspirations,namely"educational andcareeraspirations"as opposedto
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"qualityof lifeaspirations."They describedtheformerasrelatingtotheassigned valueof fonn al educationand intendedlevelsought.alongwiththe career intended. The latter referred(0suchthings as preferredarea ofresidence.family preferences.schoolpre ferences forchildren.etc.(Cobbet al.. 1989.p.l .:!)' P.S.
Macjsayne i1987)stated that"aspirationsare definedas anindividua l' s desire10 obtaina statusobjector goalsuchas aparticular occupationorlevelofeducation- (p.1351.Thisis incontrast10expectations whicharc"anindi....idual'sestimation of the likelihoodofattainingthose goals.plans.ambitionsordreams" (p.135), Macjsrayne (1987\ credited theconceptualizationof thetermstoKuvleskv and Bealer(1966 )intheirresearchon how occupationalchoices are measuresofan individual's aspirations or preferences concerningworkstatus. Gcn fredscn (1996) describedoccupationalaspirationsas-shifting andfallibleindicators ofthe centerof a setor arrayofoccupations that theindivid ual is willingor eagerto consider"tp.187).
The basisformuch of this research was theassumption that both aspirations and expectationswererelated to actualcaree rattainment.Ifthisisthe case.then witha greaterunderstandingofaspirationsandexpectations.programs maybe putinplaceto allow individuals10havehigheraspirationsand expectations.
Much has been writtenin theliteratureabout theories of aspirationsand career decision-making(Brown&Brooks.1996;Conroy.1997;Gottfredscn.
n 1996: Holland . 1992: Kotrlik& Harrison. 1989:LUZZQ. 1996 :Mitchell&
Krumbcltz. 1996:Powlen e&Yo ung.1996: Quagli a&Cobb. 1996:Spokane . 1996:Super.1953: Super.Savikas&Super.1996). Inordertounderstand educatio naland careeraspirations andexpectations.itis importanttohave a theoretica lframewo rk from which toapproachthevariousresearchquestions found in theliterature. While therearea myriadof careerdeve lopme nttheories(0
choose from.the theoristsforthisdiscussionhave been chosen becau se they have bee nprevalent in the research .
Oneofthemostfrequentl ycited authorsincareerdevelopment research.
Super(1953 )believed thaiperso nal andenvi ronmentalfactorsinteract insucha way as tofavourthe developme nt ofcareer asp irations. These variouscareer aspirat ions developed for different individua lsbecauseof dif feringabilities.
interes tsand personalities andthatcaree rdecis ionscanchange asaresu lt of differinglitesituations. He developeda seriesoften propositionswhich constituted his theoryof caree r developmen t (Super.1953). Ina laterarticle Super.Sav ikas .&Super(1996)mentioned his earlytheory··that emphasize s continuityin humandevel opm ent and focu ses onthe pro gression ofchoice. entry.
adjustment.and transitiontonew choiceover the entire life cycle " (p. 123) . According to Baileyand Stad t(1973). ascitedinKotrlikand Hamson (l989), Super's theorywas considered to bethe mostcomprehensive of thedevelopmen ta l theories (p.49). Througho utthe yearshis original tenpropo sitionshave been
refinedandexpanded.Currently. therewerefourteenpropositions which madeup histheory(Super et al.. 1996).Thesepropositionsdealtwith anumbe rofaspects such asrecognizing that therewere differences between individuals which qualifiedthemforvarious careersand thatdifferent occupations required specific sets oftraitsandabilitieswhileat thesamelimeallowingforthese individua l differences. Jobpre ference.lifesituations.andself-co nceptchangeovertime althoughthelattertendsto become morestableasmaturitylevelsincrease.When referring10thischangeovertime.Superetal.(1996) discussedaseriesof "life stages characterized asa sequence ofGrowt h.Exploration. Establishmen t.
Maintenance.and Disengagement.andthesestages in tum maybesubdivided into periodscharacterizedbydevelopmentaltasks"tp.12-l). Furtherpropositions included: thenatureofthecareerpatterndependingonfactorssuch asparents' socioeconomicstatus:maturitylevels oftheindiv idual: educationa llevelatta ined:
personalitytraits:andopponunitiesto which the individualis exposed.Successin a caree r depends oncoping skills. whichisrelated10careermaturity. They continue:
Career maturityisa psychosocia l constructthat denotesan individual'sdegree of vocationaldevelopmentalong the continuumoflifestages andsubstagesfrom Growth through Disenga geme nt.Froma socialorsocietalperspective(it) can be defined bycomparing:the developmenta l tasksbeing encountered to thoseexpected basedon an individual's chronologicalage.Fromapsychologicalperspective (it) can beoperationally defined by comparingan individual's resources.bothcognitiveandaffective.forcoping witha
currentrasktotheresourcesneededto masterthetask.(Super etal.. 1996,p.124. 125)
Super'set al.(996)propositions alsomentionedhowdevelopment through theselife Stagesmaybedirectedvia theuseof faci litationandthe maturationof copingskills.interes t and abilities.as wellasfosteri ngthe deve lopm entof self- concepts(p.125). These"oc cupational self-concepts-areproducedbythe interactionsof"inherited aptitudes.physicalmakeup.opponuni tytoobserve and playvariousroles.andevaluations of the extentto whichtheresults ofrole- playing meetwiththeapprova lofsupervisorsandpeers" (Superer'II,1996.p.
1~5l" Workand lifesatisfactionarelinkedto selfconceptswhich aredependant on theindivid ual'sability10lindoutletstor"abilities.needs. values.interests.
land)personality traits-(Super at011..1996.p.125).Careers allow individualsto focusand organize theirpersonalities. "Social traditions. suchas sex-role
stereotypin g and modeling. racialand ethnic biases....(and) indiv idual
differences auImportamdetermin antsofpreferencesforsuch roles as worker, srudem.teisurite.homema kerandcitizen-(Super et31..1996.p.1261.
BrownandBrooks119961 claimedthatwhile Super'stheory has had tremendousimpactoncareerdevelopmenttheoryas awhole.Super.himself commentedonthefactthatthereare areasofhis theory that arenotlinked together in a cohesivewho le"
Ascited inKotriik andHarrison (1989),and Brown andBrooks (1996 ).
"
the Ginzberg. Ginsbur g.Axelrad .and Herma (19; 1)caree r developme nttheory.
was apsycho lo gica lly based theorywhichproposedthatcareerdevelopment was a lifelongprocess.Thetheory lists fouraspectsofvocationa lchoice:
Reality factor(responseto pressuresof environment In makingdec isions ).educationalprocess(amo untsand kind limitsorfacilitates flexibilityand type:ofchoices made].
emotional facto rs(personalityand emotions should ban:
vocationa l concomitants). andindividual values deemed importantto vocationalcho ice(differentvalueslordifferent career choices)(Kotrlik&Harrison.1989.p.50 )
In thistheory.thesecareerchoiceswere basedoncompromiseand were. fo r the most part.unchange ab le.According toBrown andBrooks(1996)while Ginzberg.
Ginsburg. Axelrad.and Henna's theoryresultedin much researchin the areaof vocatio nal developmen t.ithad minimaleff ecton implementation (p.2).
Holl and' s(1992 ) theory of careersandpersonalitieswas based onthe conceptsofpersonalitytypes and mecorrespo nden cebetweentheindividual' s self-concept(referr edtoinSuper )andcareerpredilection{Kctdik&Harrison.
1989). HisthCOI')"containedfourmajor assumptions.The firstwas that generally.
people may beclassifiedintooneof six personalitytypes:"realistic. Investigative.
artistic.social.enterprising.orconventional" (Holland. 1992.p.-I).Eachofthese:
personalitytypeshad associatedwithit specificbehaviour traits. Individuals' personaliti es wereon a conti nuum. howe verthe closer an individual'spersonality types werelike thatof oneofthoselisted.the greaterthepossibilit y ofhaving thoseparticularbehaviourtraits.The secondassumptionin Holland 'stheory was
that anindividual's actual livingenvironmentwas. moreorless. likeoneof "six modelenvironments:realistic.investigative.artistic.social. enterprising.and conventional"(Holland. 1992. p.~). Thethird assumptionwas thai individua ls strive 10 find a match betweentheir personality type and their working environment. Thefourth assumptionwas that anindividual' s behaviouristhe result of interactions between thatindividual's personalityand his or her environment. Knowingthesefactsabout an individualallows forthe prediction of variousoutcomes. suchas. "choice of vocation. job changes. vocational achievement. personal competence. and educational and social behaviour (Holland.1992.p.~).
Holland'stheoryhas been usedto designandruninterestinventories.to organize andclassify occupationalinventories.todesignself-help mater ials.and 10 guideresearch intomanyaspectsof career andguidance(Spokane.1996 1.
Brown and Brooks (1996).recognize the impactthat Holland' stheoryhas hadon researchand practice. His theory"all in all is the mostinfluential model of vocational choicemakingcurrentlyinexistence" (p.3).
Krumboltz' s social learningtheoryof careerdecision-makinghad as its basisfourmajorareas of influence(Mitchell& Krumbcltz.1996:Kotrlik&
Harrison.1989). Theseincluded geneticsorgeneticcharacteristics. Certain individualsmaybegeneticallypredisposedtoexcelincertainareas. for example tallpeople to become professionalbasketballplayers. Thesecond areaof
influencewasthe environment. These were typically beyondthe contro lofthe individual and include suchthingsas"social. cultural.politicalandeconomic forces"(Mitchell&Krumbolrz.1996.p. :!38).The third area ofinfluence was learning experiences. Froma youngagepositiveand/ornegative feedbackcan play aroleinlater career paths. The fourtharea ofinfluence wasinteractions.
Interactionof the three above-mentioned infl uencesleadtospecific "task approach skills"(Mitchell&Krumboltz.1996.p.1-tI).These skillswere thosethathave been learned and were able to be appliedto newsituations(Mitchell&Kru mbohz.
1996,p.2~ll.
Thelast theoreticalperspectiveto bediscussedis thatof Gottfredsons ( 1996)theory of circumscriptionandcompromisewhichattemptedtomeld togethercareerdevelopment theoriesfrom boththe sociologicaland psychological paradigms. She has borrowedcertainaspects fromSuperand Holland. She discussedthe idea that an individual's"self-conceptandperceived accessibilityof an occupationinteractwithoneanotherand directlyinfluencecareer decisions"
(Luzzo.1996,p.139).Gonfredson's(\996)twomajor ideasarecircumscription andcompromise.Circumscription isthe processofnarrowing downacceptable careeralternativesto a finalcareerchoicethrough the process of eliminating those unacceptable careeroptions.The eliminationof theseunacceptablecareeroptions is basedupon"age-specific themes ofsize and power,sexroles. and social valuation" (Trice. Hughes. Odom. Woods, & McClellan. 1995. p. 310).
"Compromiseis the processby whichyoungsters begin torelinquish theirmost preferredalternativestor less compatiblebutmore accessibleones"(Gottfredson.
1996. p. 187). According toWarton andCooney (1997)hertheory"considersthe opportunities availableat thestructural level while takingaccount of the subjectivemeanings ofvocations givenby individuals" (p.389). Thus.career aspirations make way for career expectations through the process of circumscription andcompromise.
While theoriesof careerdevelopmentand aspirationabound.the previously mentionedtheoriesprovide a sound base fromwhichtocontinuethe reviewof relevant research literature into educational and career aspirations and expectations.
TransitionResear ch
Itiscommonlyrecognized that leavinghighschool and enteringthe workforceorthe post-secondaryeducationsystem is oneof themostdifficult transitionsthatan individualwillmakein hisorher lifetime(Owens.1992;
Powlette&Young.1996;Roberts. 1997;Sharpe&Spain.1993:Sharpe&White.
1993). The next topic tobe discussedhas todo withthe educational.career aspiration research and some findingsfrom thisresearchinto thetransition process.
Roberts(1991)researched transitionpatterns inBritainandotherEuropean countriesfrom the early1970's to1989.and has found that this processhas
"
changed dramatically.Ithas becomea muchlongerprocess thanin the past.He concluded that thiswas a resultofa number offactors;includingthehigh unemploymentrate.whichhad beenthe trendsince the1970·s.the trendtowards ever increasingqualificationsandthe factthatthejobmarket had shifted3wa~
fromlabourrypeoccupationstowardsthese thatrequirehigherqualifications and subsequentlylongerschooling.
MacBrayne(1987)in herreview ofthcresearch literatureoneducational andoccupationalaspirationsobservedthaithe researchindicated thatlor most yo uth thelevelsof aspirationsare higherthanthose forexpectations.She further noted thatlevelsof expectationstend todrop as youthgetolder.while aspirations tend10 rema innigh.
Conroy (1997).inher caree r aspiration studyof611 ruralPennsylvanian students fromgrades 7 throughI~.found a number of interestingfacts. The majority ofstudents(61.50/, 1aspiredtoprofessional careers. follo wed by semi- skilled trades(20.9% 1.serviceand labortrades15.1%)andothers(0 a lesse r extent. She commentedthaiwhilethe studentsaspiredto thesehigher level careersthey also indicateda desire10remainwithinthe localgeographic areato obtain employment.Adiscrepancyarosebecause manyof the aspired-tocareers were notfoundinthatlocale.Related tothese highaspirations were highsalary expectations.Again.this wasdiscrepanttothe realityofthe area (Conroy.1991 ).
Apestaland Bilden (199 1) conducted researchintoeducational and
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occupationalaspirationsof17.JruralNorthDakota studentsingradesten to twelv e. They found that7::!.4%aspired to obtainafour-year college degree.
18.4% aspiredtoa tw o- year post-secondarydiploma. and 9.2% had no educational aspirat ionsafterhighschool. Intermsofoccupationalaspirations asmeasuredb~
theTotalSocioeconomicIndex(SEn. (Stevens&Chao1985)19.9% of the studentsaspiredtohigh levelcareers.24.5%aspiredtomedium -high level careers.
38.1%aspiredto average level careers.[7.0%aspired(0low-averagelevel car eers andless than 0.5% aspiredtolow levelcareers.As part
o r
theirresearch. Apostal andBilden (1991)comparedtheirdatatothat of aresear ch studyof anational sampleofrural youth. carr ied outby Dunne.Elliott andCarlson(1981). This nationalsampleyieldedthe followingresult stor educationalaspirations: :!9.0%of the studentsaspiredto a tour-yearcollegeprogram.3 L8% aspiredto a two-ye ar collegediploma. and39.3%had no post-secondary aspirations after high school.Intermsof occupationalaspirations.10.8% of the studentsaspired!Ohigh level careers. :!8.3%aspired10medium-highlevel careers.23.8%aspired((1average leve lcareers.25.1%aspiredtolow-average level careers and 1:2.0%aspired (010\\
levelcareers.
Odell(1988) inastudyof-1-98rural Ohio tenthand twelfthgraders found thai approximately 36%planned toattendcollegeand 26%were considering attendin g college. Fromthis groupof students37.7%were eitherplanningor consideringa four-year programand 23.0%wereplanning orconsidering a
30 technicalschoo l.In termsofprograms.Engineeringwasthemost often citedat 11.8%. While the combinedaverages foreducation.engineerin g.health science.
and business were approximately4()O;. .Intermsof occupationalexpectations.as measuredbythe Duncan SocioeconomicIndex(Duncan. 1961). the findings indicatedthatover 520/.expectedtobeemployedin careers at themedium-high level. Approximately 11% of the expected occupations were executive.
administrative. or manageria l. 18% wereexpected in clerical and service occupations.approximately15%expectedto work inthe comb ined occupations of construction.transportation.mechanics,productionorlabor.(Odell.1988.p.191. Aswiththe previouslymentio nedstudy.most of thestudentshadunrealistic income expectations .
Walberg(1989)in hisexamination of data fromanationa l pollof American teena gers (Bezilla, 19881found thatin terms ofpost-seco ndaryaspirations.
approximately5()4'!oplanned toattendcolleg efulltime.~5%[0workandattend college parttime. IM otoworkfulltimeand another1<W.plannedto enterintothe armed forces.
Rojewski (1995)inhisstudyof129 gradeninetotwelvestudents from ruralColoradofoundthat53.5%had educationa l aspirationstoattend afour-year collegeoruniversity.11.6%a two-yeartechnicalinstitute or community college.
15.5%planned towork. afterhighschool.and17.8%stated noplans.Interms of occupationa laspirationsandexpectat ions. asmeasuredbythc SEI (Stevens&
1I Chao 198 5)Raj ewski foundthatthe avera geSEI valueforaspirationswas 58.6-1.a valuethatrepresentstheupper end of theaverage level. TheaverageSEI value forexpectationswas.J9.70.inthemiddleof theaverage level.The most often aspired-tocarter was thatofpro fes siona lathlete(perc enta ge notgiven}foll owed bybiologi calor lifescien tist(5.4%). lawy er(4.7%).andphysician(3.9%). Ofthe expectedcareers listed the most commoncareer wasthat of clothingmachinc worker(7.0%) a localindustry. followedb~'athlete (4.7%1.biological or lite scientist(3.9% ).nurse(3.9% 1.and employmentin the local mine(3.9%).He also examinedtherelationship betw eencareeraspirationsandexpectations andfound that52.7%ofthestudents had matching aspirationsandexpectations(Rajewski.
1995. p.~Q-lI).
Sharpe and SpainlI99la lintheirlongitudinalstudyofthe transition patternsof 7390 Newfoundlandyouth100ndmany interesting things.InteT1T1Sof immediate educationalaspirations.55.~oof thestudents planned[0attendpost- secondary education.while11.1%indicateda desireto attendbutwould probably have to work.8.3%planned to seekout employment afterhighschool.7.6%
planned totake ayearolT.5.3%wouldprobably continuewith theireducation but wouldramer work.~.5%werereturningtohigh school.and2.7% ofthestudents had noplans. Interms oflongrange.educationalaspirations. 88.5%ofthe students plannedto attendsome formof post-secondaryprogram inthe future.
Intermsof ranked percentagesfor careeraspirations. Sharpe and Spain
J: (l99la) found thaI the frequencyofcareers.as groupedbythe Canadian Classificationand Dictionary ofOccupations (CCOO)(M inis~'ofSupply and ServiceCanada. 1990)"major groups-foroccupations.wereas follows:in medicine andhealth (18.21:servi ce(15.3% );naturalsciences. engineerin g and math (I3A): social services (10.3%1: teaching (10.1%): managerial and administrative occupations (9.1%); clerical (6.8%): artistic. literary and performingam(5.5%):productfabri cating.assemblyandrepair(5.~o,'o):transport equipment andoperatingoccupations(3.9%); andconstruction trades (3.8%).
Therestrangedfromforestryandloggingat1.7% downto mining.oil andgas at 0.08%. ltis interestingto notethatfishingandtrappingwereaspiredtoata percentageof only0.3%.Intermsofnumbersof aspired-to careerchoices given byme respo ndents.onepreference wasthe mOSI common(82.3%)_IWOchoices wasnext(11.4%). followed bythreepreferences(1.2% ). Those whoresponded
-don"tknow-had a percentageof2.~~.while -nc response-was2.8l!-•.
Walsh(1989) as citedin Genge(19%)reportedin alongitudinal studyof Ontarioyouth.that 7004ofthesampleexpectedto enterpost-secondary education afterhighschool. whileapproximately 13%planned(0work.Inthe follow-up.of thoseexpecting toenter post-secondary education.only50% actually did andof thoseexpectin gtoenter the workforce. between33%and50%actually did.
Sharpe andSpain (I991b) intheir firstfollow-upsurvey. obtainedsimilar results.
or
the studentswhohadtaken panin the initialsurveybythe fallofthefollowing year.61.8%werestudents.includingthosewhoreturnedtohigh school.
2·U%wereworking.and13~1Iwereunemployed. By the timeof thesecond follow-upsurvey.of thosestudentsfromthe initialsurvey group.reponing intentionsto attendpost-secondaryschooling(88.5~.1.only5:!%were actually in attendanceatthattime.nearly18monthslaterlShall'e&While.199 3).
PowleneandYoung (19961intheirstudyofI.o"ngradeeleven students fromallover Albertafound. in termsof educational aspirations. that35.011/11
plannedto attenduniversity.11.9%plannedtoattendatechnical instituteor apprenticeship program.18.5%plannedtoattend communitycollege.and1~.6%
had noplansordid notrespondto the question"Interms of industrialgroupings.
asmeasuredbythe NationalOccupational ClassificationIndex of Titles(NOCI (EmploymentandImmigration Canada.1993 ).the mostcommon industrieswere health(16.4%).followedby social science(13.3%).naturaland appliedscience t11,,711'0).sales/service(10,,1%).andan.culture" recreationandsport(10.0-..1"
Then: areother lessfrequentlyaspired-tocareerslisted.Ofinterestis the"don't know" category(4.8'1. )andthe"noresponsecategory"(19.9%). When the students listedcareer choice aspirations.the majority(6 1.3%) indicatedonc choice.followedbytwochoices (10.6%). andihree choices (2.4%1(Powlene&
Young.1996.p.31.32).
Lcwko et011.(199 3)conducteda study of179gradeelevenandtwelve studentsinvolved in theNorthernSummerSchoolforExcellencein Science
,..
program. Thefocusoftheirstudy was10determinesomefactors onstudent transitioninto sciencecareers.Ofthese students. approximately63%aspiredto careersin science while approximately37% aspired tonon-sciencecareers.
Stevens and Mason (1994)in theirstudyof24,year-tenstudentsfromrural Australia. foundthaicareer aspirationsand expectationswere attunedfor3i.5%of thestudents. Another 16.7%hadsimilar aspira tionsand expectationswhile..15.8%
weredifferent. These includedthosestudents who had noexpe cta tionlisted.
Theyalsofoundthat 91.6%ofthe studentshadplanstocomplete their high school education.
Whileit isimportanttolook atthoseeducationa l and careeraspiration researchtrends.itis also important10examinetheresearch in termsof thefactors that maybeaffectingthese aspirationsand transitionpatterns. Theliterature abounds with research on the:factors thataffect aspirationsandexpectations.The tcllcwl ngoverviewof theliterature highlightsthese subjectareasofcurrent researchint erest. andpresen tsrepresentativefind ings
Futon Aff«ting Aspiralions SchoolandCurric ulum
Therearenumerousresearchstudiesintothevariousfactorsthatinfluence educationa l andcareeraspirationsand expectati ons.Thefirstofthese factorsto beexami ne darcschool and curriculumfactors (Arnold. Budd.&Miller.1988:
Cherry&Gear.1987:Dick.&Rallis.1991;Fisher&Griggs.1995;Gonza lez.
j~
1997:Hall&Kelly.1995:Lewko.Hein. Garg.&Tesson.1993:Mau.Domnick.&:
Ellsworth. 199 5:McKenna&Ferrero. 1991:Noeth.Engen.&Noeth.19~:
Powlene&Young. 1996:Quaglia, 1989:Smith.1991:Stevens&Mason . 19iU:
Slone&Wang.1990:Warton&Cooney.1997).
The first aspecttobeexamined isthe effect.whichthe le,re1ofprogram and academ ic achievement has onaspirations.forthemost part.it has beenreported that thereisa positivere lationshipbetween academic ac hievementand grade average on aspirationlevels.In their research. Powlen e and Young (1996 ) found thattheleve l ofprogram had an influenceon the plansIhalstudentsmadeafter high school. Ofthe twoprograms.generalor advanced.theyfound6~.J%were enrolled intheadvanced programandthatsignificantlymore studentsin this progt:lmplanned toenteruniversity.Theycommentedon the similarfi ndingsin the literature."programand averagegradesan:generally thoughttohavean influenceonstudents'careerchoicet tp.}·nThisis supportedbysimilarfindings ofAnisef Paasch e.&Turrittin(1980)as cited in Genge119961 in whichshe reportedonthe relationship betweenstudent enrollmen t inacademic program sand theirplansto attendpes t-secondaryprograms.Intermsof gradesthey found that thehighest numberofrespondents(-1'.8%1hadgradeaverages whichranged from 65-79.followed by thegraderanges80·10 0 (38.5%).50-64 (14.9%) .and0-49 (4.8%).Herethey alsofounda significantrelationshipbetweengradeaverageand the trans itional pathway chosen{Powlette&Young. 1996).McGrath(1993)in a
se studyof Newfoundlandandlabradoryout h found thatacademic achievement in advancedmathis relatedtoparticipationinpost-secondaryeducation.
Mau er al.(199 5) intheirstudyofcharacteristics of fem aleswhoasp ired to careers in scienceandengineeringfoundthat academ icproficiencyinscienceand math. as well as.gradeavera gehad an influenceonenteringthesetypes of professions. Educationalaspirationswere also foundtoinfluenceentrance into scienceandengineering occupations. Theynoted thaithere wasalso a relationsh ipbetweeneducationa l aspirat ions andacademicprofic iency{Macer OIl..
199 5).
HallandKelley(1995) conduct ed astudyof 205 eighth-gradestude nts in ruralInd iana.Their focuswas to determin etheeffect ofacade micachievementon careerindecision. Studentsin agiftedprogramwereconsideredtohavehigh acad em ic achievementwhile studentsfromtheregularclassroomwereconsidered 10have avera ge achievement. Theyrepon ed thattherewas no signi fica nt differen cebetweentheavera geandhighach ievers intermsof careerdecisiveness.
Noeth.EngenandNoeth(1984) conductedastudyon1200highschoo l juniors fromWashingtonState.inwhichtheyan empredtodescribesomefactors whichaffectedstudents'car eer decisions. Theyfoundthat 87%ofthestudents reportedthatgrade averageswerein fluentialin deciding onacollegemajorand 86%ofthestudentsreport edthat gradeswere helpfulincareerdecision -mak ing.
Odell(1988) foundthatstudentsenroll edin academ ic andgenera! pro gramswere
r- morelikelyto planforpost-secondaryeducationand have higheroccupational expecta tio ns thanstudents enrolled invocational pro grams.
Smith(199 1)inhis studyof2.136seventh and ninthgrade studentsfrom thesouth-east ernUnited Statesfoundthatapositive relationshipexistedbetween a
student's academicachiev ementandlevelofeducation al expectations.
Anotheraspectlooked atwere the rolesof school personnel(suchas teachers.co unselors. and administrators) on the aspirationsofhigh school students. Theresultsdillerinterms of the usefulnessandeffectsthatteachers and counse lors haveonaspirations. Dick and Rallis(1991) in theirstudyon the factors andinfluencesonthe careerchoicesof 1.213 high schoolsenio rsfrom RhodeIsland.foundthatforcareersin science and engi neering theteacher tended 10beaninfluence more etten thanforstudents aspiringto othercareers.
Aspartof theirstudy,Ute studentswere asked to ratethe importanceof significantothersto their careerplans . Ofinterestisthe reportingof school personnel.Only5% ofthestudentswereinfluencedbyreachersor counselors and only0.9% byprincipalsorvice-principal(Powlene&Young.1996).
Kotrli kandHarrison(1989)reportedthat37.0%of students indicated that teachers were influentialin the career decisions ofhighschoolseniors. Guidance counselorswereinfluentialfor28.8%of the students.
Stevensand Mason (1994) in theirstudyof 24year-ten studentsfroma small. ruralAustraliantown. found thai"teachers didnot exertverymuch
38 influenceon thevocational thinking orthese year ten students't tp.279). Contrary 10thisare resultsfrom thestudycond uctedbyNoeth etal.(198-l).Ofthe sample:
ofstudents.76% fo und thatteacherswereinlluentialin helping them decideon a planned college major and 70% of them reported that teachers wereinfluentialin career decision-mak ing. However.the resultsare not aspositiveforguidance counselors.Only 59%of thestudents reponedthat counselors were influentia lin their decisionregardingareaof college majorandeven fewer(5~% 1reponed counse lors helpful incareerdecision making.
Gonzalez.([997)in his studyof 2.997gradeelevenandtwelvestudents fromAsturias.Spain. reporte dthat students were quite dissatisfiedwiththeschool personnel in termsof help10find careerinformation."between85% and71%
denounced thescantor non-existent support ofpersonsin chargeof the centers, guidancestaff.guidanceteachers. and otherteachers' (p.~25l .
CherryandGear(1987 )intheirstudyof1.366 level three. tour and the students in Great Britain. found that the students attached high levelsof impo rtance to discussionswithcounselors .This was ranked asthesecond most important. after talkswith the family.for level three studentsandfirst for level four and fivestudents. Teachers on the other handfared quite poorly.Talking with teachers aboutcareer aspirationsrankedsixth out of nine in importance for levelthree and eighth forlevel four and five.
Arnolder al. (1988) studiedthe perceiveduse fulness of varioussources of
"
careerinformation.In theirstudyof 98fifth andsixthformstudentsinthesouth- west ofEngland. theyfoundlhaltalkingto career counselorsranked fourthoutof six.
WartonandCooney(1991)intheir studyof 1.0-&8 year tenstudentsinNe\\
South Wales. Austra lia.found that 70-10of studentswere given sufficient informationonsubject areas for nextyear.Stude nts in this study wouldhaveto leavethelocalarea attheendof yeartentomove10alarger center foryears eleven and twelve. Ofthose students who received information.70%reponed obta ining information fromteachers and 64% from guidance counselors . Guidance counselorsandteacherswere rankedsecondand third respectively.in termsof the usefulness ofinformation providedwhileparentsrankedfirst.
McKenna and Ferrero11991)conducted astudyof 5.937grade nine studentsfromPennsylvania centeredonattitudestowardsnon-traditionalcareers.
Inthis study.the~toundthatapproxima tely H% of thestudents rated teac hersas providing between some.and much help in providingcareer information.
Counse lorswere ratedbyapproximately67l!-.asprovidin g someor much hclp.
FisherandGriggs(1995)reponed that 60% of thestudentsfoundteachers and counselo rs supportive and-&5% of thestudentsindicated thatteachers and counsel orsactedas role models.
Anotherimportantfactor toconsider is theroleofcourses orsubje cts. as well asinterest. onthe aspirations ofhighschoolstudents.Theliteraturesuggests
