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Goals of college students: some gender differences

College Student Journal, Dec, 2003 by Deborah Abowitz, David Knox

One-hundred-and-fifty-four undergraduates at Bucknell University voluntarily completed a confidential questionnaire in which they ranked 19 of their life goals. Analysis of the random sample revealed that women (more than men) ranked goals related to individual happiness, interpersonal happiness and fulfillment higher than career goals (p< .05)--a finding reflected in the literature. However, women also rated "being well educated" higher than men (p < .05) which provides support for the existence of a trend toward changing gender role ideology. Implications for faculty, administrators, and undergraduate men are suggested.

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"What are your plans after graduation?" is a question dreaded by many college students. This seemingly innocuous and well-intentioned question, often coming from professors, advisors, friends, or close and extended kin, has a wealth of meanings and implications for the graduating senior but is designed to elicit the student's immediate and long-term life goals. Such a focus has also been the recent subject of researchers seeking to identify the goals and values of college students (American Council on Education and the University of California, 2001; Caston, 2002), the importance of student interest in pursuing career choice (Morgan, Isaac, & Sansone, 2001), the problem of mismatched student goals and preparation (Mervis, 2001), and the perceived barriers to obtaining career goals (Perrone, Sedlacek, & Alexander, 2001). The current study focused on gender differences in both the immediate and more general life goals of college students at a small liberal arts university.

Sample and Description of the Respondents

A random sample of 154 undergraduates at Bucknell University (in central Pennsylvania with 3250 full-time undergraduates) voluntarily completed a confidential 140-item questionnaire in spring 2001. The survey questionnaire included a ranking of 19 life goals. The sample was stratified by gender and class year with subjects drawn from among all students enrolled at the university by random selection. Sixty percent of the respondents were female; 40%, male. In regard to year in school, 20 percent of the respondents were first-year students, about one-quarter each were from the sophomore and junior classes, while about 30% were seniors. The sample was almost evenly divided between Greek and non-Greek students, and was overwhelmingly white (90%).

In terms of their general background characteristics, almost 60% of students in the sample came from rural areas or small towns. In addition, students identified strongly with the "upper middle" class (53%) and two-thirds of the sample reported their family income as "above average" or "far above average." Nine out of ten of the respondents reported having been reared in intact families and 71% of the students reported that both parents worked outside the home. Respondents were almost equally Protestant and Catholic (about 40% each); 7% and 3% respectively identified their religious identity as Jewish or Muslim/other. Among those who reported a religious preference, more than half (55%) noted a strong or very strong religious identity.

Findings and Discussion

Table 1 reflects student ratings of general life goals (goals for which they were given no specific time frame). The ratings are based on a five-point scale, from 1 ("it's one of the most important things") to 5 ("not at all important") such that the lower the number, the more important the life goal to the respondents.

The data in Table 1 reveal that the value students place on the goals of personal happiness, being in love and having romance is higher than being financially secure and having nice things in life. Since the time frame for these life goals was not specific, it is not surprising that marriage and children were not rated as their top goals.

A significant difference (p < .05) emerged in the degree to which women and men rated being well educated as important (p < .05), with women rating it higher (1.45) than men (1.64). Awareness of the importance of education in securing a desirable and well paying job has risen in recent years. With more women in the work force full-time today, out of both economic necessity and the need for personal fulfillment, the emphasis on education (particularly higher education) among women has increased. There are more women enrolled in college than men in the U.S. today and the percent of women earning Ph.D.s continues to increase every year (now at 44%) (National Opinion Research Center, 2002).

Table 2 shows the respondents' rating of life goals in response to the instruction, "when you think about your life after graduation." These goals are assessed using the same rating system as in Table 1. Again, the lower the mean value reported, the more important the life goal among students. These data reveal the continued importance these undergraduates place on goals specific to relationships (friends, life partner/spouse, relatives) over satisfaction with one's career and work.

Goals of college students: some gender differences

College Student Journal, Dec, 2003 by Deborah Abowitz, David Knox

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