In the past, students' participation in science competitions has been positively associated with their aspirations to pursue a career in science. Previous studies, however, were predominantly focused around successful competitors, overlooking the largest group of participants: those who are faced with early elimination. We therefore aimed to…

The present study aims to identify unrealistic career optimism among Korean high school students and to examine its characteristics. Cluster analysis was conducted to identify the number of groups classified by the reported levels of career aspirations and career preparation behaviors among 420 Korean high school students, and each group's…

Context: Adolescence is the training ground for adult life. In a relatively short period, the adolescent will undergo a metamorphosis. During the high school years, the majority of adolescents move from persistent dependence to true independence, from logical thinking to abstract, complex and hypothetical thinking, from impulsivity to…

This year-long ethnographic study explored the occupational aspirations and informal educational experiences of 25 diverse homeless adolescents who found social welfare assistance through Empower, a nonprofit organization. Using organizational habitus and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks and constant comparative analysis, I found that…

Jobs for the Future (JFF) and BigFuture want all students to have the sense of agency and purpose that comes with feeling hopeful, motivated, excited, confident. An essential step in achieving this is to ensure that high school students and their families receive a timely and abundant flow of information, resources, and advising in order to…

The purpose of this study was to identify the internal and external factors that support the academic and career resourcefulness of adolescents from underserved backgrounds. This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of 13 low-income adolescent participants who lived in public housing and participated in an afterschool program in the…

This mixed methods study investigated the occupational/career decision-making processes of intellectually gifted adolescents from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In the first phase, interview data from 26 Australian adolescents, who were simultaneously intellectually gifted and of low socioeconomic status background, were analyzed using…

The adolescents' occupational aspirations is affected by various factors such as intelligence, emotional stability, growth and development, peer group interest, family background, social and economic life and the cognitive maturity to select a career according to the one's interest and needs. Adolescents' career maturity is influenced by the…

Secondary school students in the Netherlands already face future-oriented decisions about their educational careers, which are expected to be informed by their interests in specific vocations or occupations. However, vocational interest assessment tools generally do not account for the possibility that students are interested in multiple…

This paper studies intersectional multiplicity by encompassing the ways individuals shape relationships between social structures and their science identity. We discuss the science lives of two sixteen-year-old British South-Asian Muslim women studying in a single-sex independent school in London, both of whom aspire to science careers. Adapting…

This study used a mixed methods approach to examine why teacher candidates choose to teach in a middle school. The study analyzed two populations of pre-service teachers in The College of New Jersey's (TCNJ) Secondary Education department: (a) students completing their first field experience in a middle school and (b) students who were part of…

This study used qualitative approach which involves interviews that are analyze using Nvivo software. Qualitative approach which uses phenomenological design to reflect on the experience of the former students towards their experience and learning contents of secondary school upper level science core subject which impacted their career aspirations…

Although personal inputs and contextual variables in social cognitive career theory (SCCT) are recognized as key factors that affect career interests and choices, research has given minimal attention to the role of these variables in a collectivistic culture context. We present a study examining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

We empirically investigate whether the relationship between the fraction of filled apprenticeships in a particular occupation in the past and the fraction of prospective apprentices having very early intentions to train in this occupation has an impact on the decision to change the intended choice of occupation. We use a unique dataset from…

Two alternative versions of a model of the cognitive decision-making processes of gifted and talented adolescents associated with occupational or career indecision were tested in this study. A psychometrically rigorous survey instrument was used to collect data from 664 adolescents attending three academically selective high schools in Sydney,…