Social Class and Expectations of Rural Adolescents: The Role of Parental Expectations

This study investigated mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of social class, specifically addressing the prediction of career expectations. The results indicated that among rural high school students (N= 200) in Grades 10–12, there was no direct effect of socioeconomic status (SES; as measured by parent education and occupation) on career expectations. However, there was a direct effect of educational expectations on occupational expectations. Building on the importance of educational expectations in the prediction of occupational expectations, the results suggested that perceived parental expectations explain variance in educational expectations. Overall, it seems that the effect of SES on occupational expectations was mediated by educational expectations; therefore, individuals of lower SES who have increased educational expectations are more likely to have occupational expectations similar to those of their higher SES peers. Moreover, increased parental expectations were positively associated with educational expectations among individuals of various SES levels.     

Examining Secondary School Choice Processes as a Predictor of Adjustment After the School Transition

The secondary school transition is an important moment in adolescents' lives. Taking a prospective approach, the present study examined whether educational identity regarding a secondary school choice and own and parental expectations during the last year of primary school predicted post-transition school and psychological adjustment in Dutch adolescents (N = 314, M_age = 11.58). Additionally, the study qualitatively examined the reasons adolescents gave for their school choice, and linked these reasons to exploration behavior and post-transition adjustment. Identity processes and expectations predicted adjustment. Adolescents mostly reported multiple reasons for their school choice, with educational, practical, and social aspects of secondary schools appearing most important. The number of reasons mentioned was associated with pre-transition exploration behavior.     

The career aspirations and action behaviours of Australian adolescents in out-of-home-care

We surveyed 202 adolescents who were in out-of-home care, and compared them with 202 adolescents not in care (matched for age, gender and school achievement) on career-related aspirations (occupational aspirations, educational aspirations, life barriers) and career action behaviours (career exploration, career planning). The out-of-home care adolescents reported lower occupational aspirations, less career planning, more career barriers, lower educational aspirations for themselves, lower parental aspirations, and more school engagement. Further, career exploration was lower for out-of-home care children who had higher aspirations, lower self-efficacy, parents who communicated higher aspirations, and low aspiring friends. Results are discussed in the context of providing career development and supports for out-of-home care adolescents so that their career aspirations and behaviours can mirror more normative levels.     

From Childhood to Adulthood: A 15‐Year Longitudinal Career Development Study

In 1987, 208 second graders were interviewed about their occupational aspirations and expectations, school likes and dislikes, educational plans, and other variables. They were reinterviewed every 2 years through senior year in high school. A 5‐year post‐high school follow‐up was conducted, and 35 young adults (23 years old) from the original sample completed a detailed questionnaire. Young adults reported significantly less career direction and preparation in high school than they did as seniors in high school. Comparisons between 3 generations within the same families were conducted on educational and occupational achievement. The importance of teachers and parents in children's career development is discussed.     

Viewing Adolescents' Career Futures Through the Lenses of Socioeconomic Status and Social Class

This study examined socioeconomic status (SES) and perceived social class as predictors of educational and occupational aspirations and expectations in a sample of 100 high school students from 2 midwestern high schools. SES was measured using caregivers' occupation and education, and subjective social status was assessed using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status–Youth Version (Goodman et al., 2001 SES and perceived social class made independent contributions to educational aspirations, whereas SES made an independent contribution to occupational aspirations and expectations. The authors discuss the importance of SES and social class in career development theory and research and provide practical implications based on the present findings. Overall, this study highlights the importance of measuring SES and social class as distinct constructs and the need for future work to identify the unique impacts of these variables.     

Juggling Between Parental and School Expectations: The Development of Domain‐Specific Acculturation Orientations in Early Adolescence

We examined how perceived acculturation expectations from parents and school, and ethnic discrimination predicted early adolescents’ heritage and mainstream acculturation orientations at home (private domain) and in school (public domain) one year later. We surveyed 263 early adolescents of immigrant background in Germany (M_age = 10.44 years, 60% female). Multigroup path analyses revealed that perceived acculturation expectations and ethnic discrimination were more strongly related to adolescents’ private than public acculturation orientations. Parental heritage expectations were the strongest predictor of adolescents’ acculturation orientations. Boys were more susceptible than girls to ethnic discrimination and acculturation expectations in school, which affected their private and public acculturation orientations. Results highlight the importance of integrating domain‐specific and gendered experiences when analyzing adolescents’ acculturative development.     

An empirical test of a model of academic expectations among youth in residential care

In the last decade accumulating evidence across many countries points to the poor educational outcomes of youth formerly placed in care and their under-representation in higher education. Academic expectations in late adolescence are considered a key marker for educational attainments in young adulthood. Although these expectations were studied extensively, they have seldom been examined among youth in substitute care. The goal of the present research was to develop and test a model to predict academic expectations of Israeli adolescents placed in residential facilities. The study sample consisted of 1360 adolescents from 34 youth villages who responded to self-report questionnaires tapping their academic expectations, current academic achievements and various aspects of their family, school and facility's environment, expected to be associated with their academic expectations.Structural equation modeling indicated that parents' level of education was indirectly related to youths' expectations, an association mediated by youth's current academic achievements and parents' aspirations for their children's educational success. Higher levels of teacher and staff support were also found to contribute to higher academic expectations; however, whereas teacher support effects were mediated by youth achievements, staff support was found to have direct, as well as moderating effects, on achievement-expectations relationship.The findings suggest the importance of an integrative approach in the efforts to promote educational expectations among adolescents in residential facilities. Such an approach, encompassing the multiple adult functions responsible for youth development within such settings, could be an important step in enhancing the chances for future academic success of this vulnerable group.     

Psychosocial,Motivational, and Contextual Profiles of Youth Reporting Different Patterns of Substance Use During Adolescence

This research examined patterns of substance use and academic factors among a sample of 733 African‐American and European‐American adolescents from a metropolitan area. First, youth were classified into 11th grade high, moderate, or no substance use groups and classified as users, initiators, desistors, and nonusers based on eighth and 11th grade use. Nonusers did not differ in eighth grade from 11th grade moderate users and initiators over time. Eighth graders who reported misbehavior and having low‐achieving friends were more likely to be high 11th grade users and users at both grades. Direct achievement effects were not found; however, interactions indicated achievement was protective when paired with having fun at school, high task value, and low levels of socioeconomic status (SES); and was a risk factor when paired with positive self regard, low fun at school and high SES. Cluster analyses indicated the most prevalent group of substance users reported high grades, social reasons for going to school, and having friends who do well in school.     

Nonparental Adults as Social Resources in the Transition to Adulthood

This short‐term longitudinal study examined whether the social resources of important nonparental adults (VIPs) perceived by youth during their senior year of high school had a significant relation to their educational and socioemotional adjustment 1 year later. One month before their high school graduation, a multiethnic sample of youths (N=754) reported on their grades, educational expectations, and selected psychosocial characteristics (i.e., depressed mood and misconduct); the educational attainment and perceived psychosocial characteristics of an important nonparental adult in their lives; and the educational plans and perceived psychosocial characteristics of their close friends. Key measures were included in a mailed survey 1 year later. VIP characteristics (particularly their educational attainment) were associated with post‐high school adjustment, even after controlling for previous level of youth adjustment and contributions from demographic and peer characteristics.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Substance Use and School Motivation Among African American Youth

Cross‐sectional research has shown a link between adolescent substance use and educational motivation. The purpose of the current study was to examine this link in a longitudinal sample of African American youth. The study examined the interrelationships between alcohol and both marijuana use and school motivation over the high school years and their effect on graduation in 681 African American adolescents (50.8% female). School motivation was shown to relate to subsequent alcohol use throughout high school and marijuana use early in high school. School motivation did not affect graduation status, but alcohol and marijuana use were related to a lower likelihood of graduating from high school. Some gender differences and differences among those who had tried alcohol or marijuana at the first wave as opposed to those who had not tried each substance were found. The findings support a systems model where school experiences can affect substance use, which, in turn, can affect the completion of high school.     

Mexican immigration and the port-of-entry school

The results of an immigrant student census in a California port-of-entry school district are used to describe the educational backgrounds of Mexican immigrant students and to distinguish types of Mexican immigrant students by school entry patterns. Interviews with recently arrived Mexican immigrant parents reveal the educational and occupational expectations they hold for their children in the US. The study findings are used as a basis for raising policy questions and generating research issues. The most notable observation from the study is that the children of Mexican immigrants in La Entrada do not migrate once they are in school. Parents may be migrating back and forth between the US and Mexico, but children once in La Entrada do not leave the school to return to school in Mexico. The study suggests that the parents of immigrant students do not know how the US educational system works but they are interested in helping teachers educate their children.     

Family Structure Pathways and Academic Disadvantage among Adolescents in Stepfamilies*

Using National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data, this research documents the prevalence of the different stepfamily forms in which American adolescents live, examines the family structure pathways through which adolescents traveled to arrive at their current family form, and explores the effects of these pathways on grades, school‐related behavior, and college expectations (N = 13,988). Compared to those who have always lived with both biological parents, youth in pathways including divorce/separation or a nonunion birth experience significantly lower academic outcomes, while those whose pathways include parental death do not. Specific effects vary, however, according to the outcome examined. For example, the combination of divorce/separation and movement into the least common of family forms is associated with particularly poor GPA outcomes. Divorce/separation is also more detrimental than nonunion birth for college expectations, particularly when coupled with a transition into a stepfamily based on cohabitation. Divorce/separation and nonunion birth have similar, negative effects on school behavior problems. Overall, results indicate that living in a stepfamily does not benefit youth, and can in some ways disadvantage them, even compared to their peers in single‐mother families. This is especially the case if youth transition into a stepfamily following a combination of stressful family experiences. These findings underscore the importance of examining family effects from a longitudinal perspective.     

Healing the Hidden Injuries of Class? Redemption Narratives,Aspirational Proxies,and Parents of Low‐Income,First‐Generation College Students

Existing scholarship has examined how low‐income individuals conceptualize their socioeconomically constrained positions in relation to the meritocratic ideologies and stratified mobility structures of the United States, but little is specifically known about how these individuals' ideas regarding their own status may be impacted by raising children who surpass their educational and occupational achievement levels. Drawing on interview data from both low‐income first‐generation (LIFG) college students and the parents of those students, this article examines how parents framed the achievements of their upwardly mobile, college‐going children in relation to their own experiences of socioeconomic, educational, and occupational constraint. Engaging qualitative understandings of the “hidden injuries of class,” the analysis demonstrates how parents of LIFG college students reconciled their own experiences of limited mobility despite hard work with their steadfast beliefs in meritocratic ideals by (1) invoking narratives of personal “redemption” from past “mistakes” or “failures” in relation to their children's educational accomplishments, and (2) conceptualizing their upwardly mobile children as “aspirational proxies” through whose accomplishments they measured their own success.     

Fertility expectations and ethnic identity among Mexican-American adolescents: an expression of cultural ideals

1980 survey data from 2 secondary schools in Arizona are studied to explain the differences in expected fertility of Mexican American and Anglo adolescents. Mexican Americans have maintained higher fertility rates than the national average, and this study helps clarify how cultural heritage and socioeconomic status relate to family formation patterns. The model, which is based on expected fertility rates of adolescents which parallel those of adults, predicts higher fertility rates for minority group members at every level of socioeconomic status. Male adolescent Anglos expect an average of 2.27 children, whereas female adolescent Anglos expect only 2.11. In both instances for Mexican Americans, the expected number is higher: 2.78 for males, 2.68 for females. Mexican American adolescents who speak Spanish at home are more likely to expect 3, 4, 5, or more children, whereas those who speak English at home are more likely to remain childless or to expect less than 2 children. Similarly, the adolescent with a Mexican born father is more likely to expect more children than the adolescent with a native born father. Tucson residents are less likely to expect 2 or more children, while Nogales (80% Mexican origin) residents are more likely to expect 3, 4, or 5 children. The acculturation factors that help to explain the high birth rate expectations of Mexican Americans are: 1) language, 2) generation, and 3) neighborhood. At every level of expected educational attainment and occupational level, Mexican Americans expect more children than Anglos. Socioeconomic status of the family of origin is the crucial variable linking fertility to socioeconomic status. The actual fertility of minority groups should not be mistaken for the expected fertility of minority groups; both are subject to different influences. However, differences in fertility expectations of Mexican American adolescents and their Anglo counterparts parallel the differences in the actual fertility rates of these groups.     

Preludes to Attainment: Race,Sex, and Student Achievement Orientations*

This paper investigates race-sex differences in achievement orientation using a national sample of high school seniors. Achievement orientation is approximated by attitudinal measures (educational expectations, occupational aspirations, academic self concept, self esteem, and locus-of-control) known to be correlated with expected and actual attainments. Three major sets of student background factors are related to ent orientation: (1) family SES, (2) school context, and (3) parental expectations. Race-sex comparisons of achievement orientation revealed several interesting, but few definitive differences. Occupational aspirations were a dimension of consistent differentiation: whites and males aspired to higher status, less stereotypic occupations than did blacks and females. Pronounced interpersonal effects are implied throughout, with family educational attainments, peer plans, teacher evaluations (grades) and parent aspirations strongly influencing achievement orientations in all race-sex subgroups. The paper calls for intensive, longitudinal studies of student interactions with parents, friends, teachers, and other individuals who influence their perceptions of what constitute desirable and possible future roles.     

Continuity in Life‐Span Career Development: Career Exploration as a Precursor to Career Establishment

The authors examined continuity in career development from adolescence to middle adulthood by testing the proposition that early developmental task‐coping activity predicts later task‐coping activity. One hundred forty‐six rural high school graduates reported career exploratory activity in 9th grade and 12th grade, occupational choice clarity in 12th grade, and occupational establishment activity 25 years later. Controlling for gender, school grades, and verbosity, occupational choice clarity predicted midcareer establishment activity. The prediction models were somewhat different by gender.     

The Role of Religiousness and Gender in Sexuality Among Mexican Adolescents

This study examined the role of religiousness and gender in age at first intercourse, and sexual expectations and values in Mexico, a macrocontext where the majority is Mexican and Catholic (83%). Participants were Catholic and nonreligious adolescents (54% girls) attending middle (71%) or high school. Findings indicated that Catholic adolescents engaged in sexual intercourse at later ages than nonreligious adolescents. Both religious attendance and importance of religion and values in sexual decision making were associated with more conservative sexual values. Boys who were raised Catholic were more likely to endorse female virginity values and were less likely to expect to wait to have sex until married than nonreligious boys. These associations were not significant among girls. Catholic boys may be more likely to internalize sexual double standard beliefs regarding premarital sex than nonreligious boys. This study expands our understanding of the role of religiousness in Mexican adolescents’ sexuality.     

Working‐class mothers’ school involvement: a class‐specific maternal ideal?

Recent ideological shifts, along with budgeting constraints, have made parental involvement in the schooling process necessary. Such expectations have increased the toll on working‐class mothers, who now have to assume responsibility in three time‐consuming areas: child care at home, school involvement and labour market participation. In analysing how mothers deal with this threefold expectation, research has focused on class‐specific maternal ideals and practices, but rarely directed systematic attention to how these concurrent expectations shape the maternal ideals they embrace. Moreover, few studies have examined how mothers’ maternal ideals shape their employment interruptions. The current paper considers how working‐class mothers rationalize the maternal ideals they embrace with regard to school involvement and examines how they negotiate them vis‐à‐vis other possible maternal ideals. Interviews of 48 Israeli low‐income mothers reveal that educational success is consensually perceived as critical for maximizing life chances and that this understanding evolved from the gradual realization that school involvement through extensive mothering – where women rely on others to meet their children's schooling needs – must be replaced by school involvement through intensive mothering – namely, personal presence‐based nurturing. We draw some implications relevant to the debate over class‐based maternal ideals.     

Longitudinal Relationships Between Part-Time Work and Career Development in Adolescents

In discussions about the effects of part-time work on adolescents, career development processes have received little attention. This study examined relationships between part-time work and two components of career development (work values and career indecision) in 483 high school students. Comparisons of longitudinal and cross-sectional data revealed that peripheral work aspects were less valued as a consequence of being involved in part-time work; thus, the relative value placed on central work aspects increased. However, part-time work did not affect career indecision. The decision of whether to work seemed unrelated to the preexisting career development status, except for the value placed on physical activity in boys.     

Leisure,School, and Work Activity Preferences and Their Role in Vocational Identity Development

Elements of an expanded construct of adolescent vocational identity were examined in terms of their interrelationships with each other, as well as relationships with preferences among leisure, school, and work activities, engagement in those activities, and identity status. Investigating a sample of 660 7th through 12th graders, we found that vocational interests, occupational self-efficacy, and occupational prestige were closely associated with each other, with school and leisure interests, and with actual engagement in corresponding (exploratory) activities. We also found that adolescents did not draw significant distinctions between leisure, school, and work activities. The role of school and vocational exploration in adolescents' self-chosen vocational identity is discussed.