The current study suggested and tested a model to investigate the associations between adolescent future expectations of work and education (AFE-WE; adaptive responses) and positive future expectations (PFE; adaptivity) through concern, control, curiosity, and confidence (adaptability resources) as well as the role of the gender. The data were…

This study examined the long-term effects of perceived educational and career barriers due to sexism and racism in college students' pursuit of postgraduate education (PE) and how such effects were different across gender and racial majority/minority groups. With a sample of 2,717 undergraduate students, results from multinomial logistic…

Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were used to describe and compare postsecondary education enrollment patterns of first- and continuing-generation students. Social cognitive career theory was used to explain the processes of educational and career pursuit and attainment, as well as personal, behavioral, and…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between motivation in high school and postsecondary enrollment among 10th-grade students whose parents did not go to college. Specifically, this study (1) identified distinct groups of students' self-reported reasons for attending schools among 10th graders, (2) examined whether these…

The present study investigated developmental differences and stability in possible selves within the educational and occupational domain among a diverse sample of urban youth (N = 319). A secondary aim was to test the "aspiration-expectation gap" while exploring the role of subjective social class and gender differences. Results did not…

We examined 401 Latina/o high school students' postsecondary plans and their responses to an open-ended question about how their schools should better help Latina/o students to achieve their plans. The majority of students planned to enroll in postsecondary education or training. Boys and those responding in Spanish were more likely not to plan to…

This study investigated the influence of background variables (age, race/ethnicity, mother's work status outside of the home, and socioeconomic status), personal variables (anticipatory role conflict and academic self-efficacy), and environmental variables (parental attachment and parental support) on aspects of adolescent girls' career planning.…

This paper examines the complex experiences of full-time employed adults trying to climb the career ladder in their company by making use of company tuition assistance to earn their first college degree. Guided by Savickas' (2005) career construction theory, emphasizing the personal agency and meaning-making within career development, we conducted…

Large scale survey datasets have been underutilized but offer numerous advantages for career development scholars, as they contain numerous career development constructs with large and diverse samples that are followed longitudinally. Constructs such as work salience, vocational expectations, educational expectations, work satisfaction, and…

This qualitative study examined the educational and career plans of a sample of urban minority high school students who voluntarily participated in a dual enrollment program at a private, technology-based community college in a metropolitan center in the northeastern United States. This program allows students to take college courses in science,…

Results of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey completed by 320 black college freshmen showed that males had lower educational aspirations; higher educational aspirations were predicted by lower estimate of social competence, higher value on career autonomy, and lack of financial resources. Higher career aspirations were…

Structural equation modeling of data from 4,034 Canadian adolescents yielded a factor composed of academic achievement, extracurricular reading, attitudes toward school and homework, and parental educational expectations that predicted 76% of variance in educational aspirations. Positive family climate and parental involvement fostered a positive…

A survey of 184 rural high school students found no differences in educational aspiration between males and females. Females expressed significantly higher occupational aspirations, in terms of jobs rated highly on the Total Socioeconomic Index 2. (SK)

Data on 6,370 work-bound, 6,949 college-bound, and 1,057 unemployment-bound adolescents were analyzed at grades 8 and 10. The work and unemployment groups' achievement profiles were similar to each other and lower than the college-bound. Socioeconomic status significantly influenced aspirations and postsecondary status. Educational aspiration was…

The emerging information-based occupational society emphasizes education-work relationships. Counselors must make students aware of forecasts of a lower need for four-year college graduates and increased jobs for two-year postsecondary graduates and help them develop alternatives to four-year college attendance. (SK)