influences and motivations on which students base their choice of career, The

Research in Education, Nov 2004 by Kniveton, Bromley H

Teachers with responsibility for careers guidance are operating in a rapidly changing society. It is the aim of this study to provide a current profile of the influences and motives related to student career choices. According to Alberts et al. (2003), choice of career is one of the major areas of concern for young people nearing the end of their schooling. The influences are complex, for, Ginzberg et al. (1951) argue, the choice of career is also influenced by the young person's conceptualisation of his or her abilities and preferences, and the pursuit of a match between these and job requirements. This, in turn, is influenced by the young person's gender and place in the family. The interaction between these forces has previously been demonstrated in studies concerning the selection of specific careers, such as nursing (Law and Arthur, 2003), but in the present study a far more widespread impact will be examined.

The task of choosing a career is not static but part of the developmental process. According to Ginzberg et al. (1951) the initial fantasy stage of early to mid-childhood is followed through the early teenage years by the tentative stage, when individuals begin to think about their interests, capacities and values. In the realistic stage, late adolescence, which is the subject of this article, the individual shifts from a focus on subjective needs and interests to an appraisal of what the world has to offer. Once selected, even a single career choice can, however, according to Ranson (2003), involve at least three different career paths. These include stable employment with one employer, mobility between employers or self-employment. It is important to be aware that any choice may be reflected in a number of different paths, once the career has been commenced.

Both the school and the family can provide information and guidance, directly or indirectly, to influence a young person's choice of career. School-teachers can identify aptitudes and abilities, and encourage students to take certain subject options, or take part in work experience, or employment visits. Small and McClean (2002) reported on the very strong influence parents can have by providing an example. They also offer appropriate support for certain occupational choices which tend to follow their own. There are many other influences from within the family. For example, Dunn et al. (1994) highlight the impact of siblings, who can have an influence in competition with that of parents and teachers. This can last until, as young adults, the siblings adopt their separate lives. The link between birth order and occupation has a long history. According to Spraggs (2002), in wealthy families primogeniture traditionally provided for the eldest son to inherit the family estate. The second son would often join the Church, and the third, maybe, the military. Younger sons with no prospects would, on occasion, turn to crime, for generally, if they were caught and displayed contrition, owing to their social status they would be pardoned. More recently there is evidence of differences in marriage patterns and career prospects based on birth order. Wall (1996), for instance, found evidence that in some occupations the eldest rather than a younger son would be more likely to follow the occupation of the father. There is no similar effect with girls.

The young person's own gender can be a factor in career choice. Creed and Patton (2003) reported that, among adolescents, females matured earlier than boys in their career attitudes. They also found females' reaction to early working experiences was more mature than that of males. In addition, with girls, according to Spitze and Logan (1990), career choice can be influenced by many aspects of family life, often involving caring responsibilities, which do not impact so much on boys. Wilgosh (2002) reported on the impact of gender stereotyping on academic attainment in certain subjects, and how popular images in the media influenced career choice. Adolescent girls, for example, became focused on appearance and popularity, and tended to avoid science-related careers. Miller et al. (2002) found females were far less likely to enter science-based occupations than males, and emphasised the need for teachers to direct their attention towards changing the attitudes of girls. Heckert et al. (2002) noted that female college students, more than males, in their criterion for choice of career put more emphasis on factors such as working conditions, facilities for child rearing, career certainty and working hours. Small and McClean (2002) also noted a gender difference in career choice, with males more likely to want to run their own business than females. Further, Noon and Blyton (1997) argue, females, more than males, desire intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards from their employment. According to Bailyn (2003), there is ample evidence that, despite employment law, organisations are more responsive to males than females.

There are many other characteristics, which to varying degrees have been thought to relate to career choice. Holland (1985), for example, identified personal characteristics which could be linked with career choice, arguing that people, knowing their own interests and abilities, would actively search out an appropriate career. He promoted his idea, describing six main orientations, which were not intended to be mutually exclusive. These were realistic, linked with preference for outdoor and physical work, with few interpersonal demands, investigative, linked with thought and creativity, with minimum social demands, artistic, disliking structure and requiring intense involvement, social, linked with communication and helping others, enterprising, linked with power and needing management behaviours, and finally conventional, linked with high structure, self-control and low interpersonal demands. As with most attempts to categorise, this approach has been criticised and modified by other researchers, the most notable being Schein (1993). For the purposes of this study, however, the attraction of Holland's model is that it provides a means for students to express career preferences without a great deal of knowledge about individual jobs.