Family factors associated with sixth-grade adolescents' math and science career interests

Career Development Quarterly, Sept, 2004 by Sherri L. Turner, Jason C. Steward, Richard T. Lapan

This study tested a causal model, based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994, 2000), of math and science career interests among 6th-grade adolescents (N = 318). Consistent with SCCT, it was found that career gender-typing, mother's and father's support for pursuing math and science careers, as well as the structure of the family itself (2-parent intact vs. single parent) predicted young adolescents' math self-efficacy; career gender-typing and mother's support predicted math outcome expectations; and math self-efficacy and outcome expectations predicted math and science career interests. Counselor recommendations based on these findings are included.

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Investigations of factors that promote mathematics achievement and interest in math and science careers were precipitated by the recognition that mathematics acts as a "critical filter" affecting entry into a wide range of scientific and technical careers (Betz & Hackett, 1983). Extensive research has demonstrated that mathematics self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and gender role socialization are highly relevant to a variety of math- and science-related pursuits. For example, math self-efficacy has been found to be predictive of mathematics performance (Lent, Lopez, & Bieschke, 1993), achievement (Randhawa, Beamer, & Lundberg, 1993; Siegel, Galassi, & Ware, 1985), mathematics-related career choices (Hackett & Betz, 1989; Lent, Lopez, & Bieschke, 1991), and the consideration of math and science careers (Post, Stewart, & Smith, 1991). Mathematics self-efficacy and outcome expectations have been shown to predict subject matter interests in math and science courses (Lopez, Lent, Brown, & Gore, 1997), and mathematics self-efficacy, math outcome expectations, and gender role socialization have been shown to predict math career interests, perceived career options, and academic and vocational choices among college students (Lapan, Shaughnessy, & Boggs, 1996; Lent et al., 1993), high school students (Lauver & Jones, 1991; Lopez & Lent, 1992; O'Brien, Martinez-Pons, & Kopala, 1999), minority high school equivalency students (Church, Teresa, Rosebrook, & Szendre, 1992), and middle school students (Fouad & Smith, 1996; Lapan, Hinkelman, Adams, & Turner, 1999; Lapan & Jingeleski, 1992).

Several studies within the rubric of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994, 2000) have supported the relationships that SCCT predicts among math efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, and other associated variables in samples composed of both college (Gainor & Lent, 1998) and middle school students (Fouad & Smith, 1996). SCCT hypothesizes that both contextual and person factors are mediated by math self-efficacy and outcome expectations as they predict math and science career interests. Person factors are biological attributes (e.g., gender, race-ethnicity) that, because of their socially constructed meanings, result in the internalization and expression of differential socialization processes (e.g., the gender-typing of math and science careers as more appropriate for men than for women). Contextual factors are those environmental barriers and supports (e.g., family structure, mother's and father's support for pursuing math and science careers) that affect adolescents' learning experiences through which their career-relevant efficacy and outcome expectations develop. According to SCCT, contextual and person factors, and the variables they predict, influence each other in complex, reciprocal ways. Further, SCCT provides a robust framework for studying and modifying potential support and barrier effects.

One of the contextual factors found to be uniquely relevant to the development of adolescents' career interests is parent support (Ferry, Fouad, & Smith, 2000; Lapan et al., 1999). For example, research has shown that perceived support from fathers relates to the educational plans and career expectations of Mexican American high school girls (McWhirter, Hackett, & Bandalos, 1998); and parental encouragement has significant direct effects on self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and math and science career interests among middle school adolescents (Ferry et al., 2000).

Research has also suggested that children from divorced families may need even more support to succeed in their educational and career endeavors. For example, researchers have shown that family divorces occurring during a child's high school years have significant detrimental effects on the child's graduation from high school and entry into post-high school training (Sandefur, McLanahan, & Wojtkiewicz, 1992); and children from single parent homes express significantly less interest in any career than children from intact families (Trice, Hughes, Odom, Woods, & McClellan, 1995). Studying the effects of family structure on adolescents' math and science career interests becomes even more important in light of the rising divorce rate in the United States. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau (1995) reported that approximately 27% of American households with children under 18 are headed by a single parent. This is an increase of 11% in the rate of single-parent families in the United States since 1970 and equates to nearly 25 million adults and children who live in single-parent family situations.