Chapter 2

Review Related Literature

High School is an important period of time in an adolescent’s life. It is the time that students are
making decisions about their course taking and future educational and career plans. Every students
carries the unique history of their past and this determines how they view the world. In fact, one of the
tasks of high school students is to explore and plan for their post secondary career options.

According to Super’s (1990) Developmental Theory of Career Development, high school students
are at the exploration stage of career development, which involves crystallizing and specifying their
occupational preferences, while also making preliminary decisions about their career choice. The review
of the literature showed the areas of a student’s life affect the plans, decisions, and career choice they
make: Gender, Parental Influence, and Peer Influence. The study attempted to identify and differentiate
to what extent these factors played varying roles in future career choice.

PARENTAL INFLUENCE

Parental influence has been implicated in the career choice of children (Roe 1987, Adigwe 1981, Okeke
1996, Gesinde 1986). Okeke for example also studied the relationship between parental occupations
and their children’s occupational preferences. Okeke found that 60% of the children were willing to take
after their father’s occupations (medicine) while 23% were willing to follow their mother’s occupations
(nursing). Gesinde on the other hand posits that parents influence is much more intricate and more
pervasive than is shown. Students of secondary and tertiary institutions are often not aware of these
influences and may accept the choice of their parents as theirs. The situation owes its origin to early
childhood when the child grabs his parent’s attitude towards different vocations. A conflict therefore
occurs when the child submits to his parent’s choice while at the same time deeply resenting his
submissions as he becomes aware of his loss of independence and finds his area of interest.

(Taylor, Harris, 2004) Families, parents and guardians in particular, play a significant role in the
occupational aspirations and career goal development of their children. Without parental approval or
support, students and young adults are often reluctant to pursue—or even explore—diverse career
possibilities. Although parents acknowledge their role and attempt to support the career development
of their children, parental messages contain an underlying message of “don’t make the same mistakes
that I did.” These interactions may influence adolescents and young adults to select specific collegiate
majors or pursue particular occupations. Numerous studies (Knowles, 1998; Marjoribanks, 1997; Mau
and Bikos, 2000; Smith, 1991; Wilson and Wilson, 1992) have found that college students and young
adults cite parents as an important influence on their choice of career. Yet parents may be unaware of
the influence they have on the career development and vocational choice of their children. University
career services of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNCChapel Hill) decided to survey
parents of incoming freshmen in order to learn more about parents’ beliefs regarding their college-age
children’s career choice and the influences on that choice.
Studies find that the family appears to play a critical role in a child’s career development (Guerra and
Braungart-Rieker, 1999; Lankard, 1995; Mickelson and Valasco, 1998; Otto, 2000; Mau, Hitchcock and
Calvert, 1998). Researchers have attempted to understand the variables that influence students’
occupational goals (e.g. family, level of parental education, school, peers, personality, and
socioeconomic status).

There have been varying opinions and findings, however, as to which specific family characteristics
influence career aspirations. For instance, conflicting data exist regarding the influence of
socioeconomic variables. Some research (Crockett and Binghham, 2000; Mau and Bikos, 2000;
Teachman and Paasch, 1998) suggests that both parent education and income influence career
aspirations, whereas other research (Hossler and Stage, 1992; Sarigiani, Wilson, Peterson, and Vicary,
1990; Wilson and Wilson, 1992) indicates only parent education is an influence. Other family variables
that have been shown to influence career aspirations include the parents’ occupation (Trice, 1991) and
family size (Downey, 1995; Marjoribanks, 1986; Schulenberg, Vondracek, and Croutter, 1984; Singh, et
al., 1995). The father’s occupational status is highly correlated with his son’s occupation (Blau, 1992;
Blau and Duncan, 1967; Conroy, 1997). Family size also appears to influence adolescent career
aspirations because parents with large families tend to have less money to aid the older children in
attending college, while younger children may receive more financial assistance since the financial strain
is less once the older children leave home (Schulenberg, et al., 1984).

Yet, in other studies (Boatwright, Ching, and Parr, 1992; Mau and Bikos, 2000), each of these family
variables has also been found to be insignificant in influencing aspirations. Nevertheless, families appear
to influence, at least to some extent, career aspirations of adolescents and young adults. If these family
factors are influential in career decision making, then it becomes difficult to explain how an
impoverished student from a broken home can go on to become a wealthy, financially successful
worker. As the paradigm of research shifts, it becomes clear that family interactions are just as
important as physical descriptors.

Over the years, research has moved from examining family demographics and their relationships to
career development to examining the dynamics of family interactions. One consistent finding in research
suggests that adolescents’ own aspirations are influenced by their parents’ aspirations or expectations
for them. When adolescents perceive their parents to have high educational expectations for them,
adolescents are likely to have higher aspirations for themselves. A 1998 Sylvan Learning Center report
indicates that parents’ and childrens’ views about career aspirations are more compatible than
incompatible. Parents are influential figures with whom, whether intentionally or unintentionally,
children become aware of and get exposed to occupations or career opportunities and implied
expectations.

Other studies have separately examined the influences of each parent on the career choices of their
sons or daughters and have found that mothers tend to have more influence on the career
decisions/aspirations of their children than fathers. For instance, Mickelson and Velasco (1998) cited
their interviews conducted with 70 young adults in 1986. They found that mothers were the most
influential and that daughters’ occupational aspirations were often similar to their mothers’ chosen
professions (Mickelson and Velasco, 1998). In similar studies, students were asked items such as, “What
do you want to do with your life?” and to indicate if they agree or disagree with statements such as “My
mother (father) encouraged me to make my own decisions.” The students’ responses were similar to
those of their parents. These studies also found that students wanted to discuss career planning
primarily with their mothers. Overall, research supports the influence of parental expectations and
aspirations on the career decisions and aspirations of their children. These expectations lay a foundation
for parents’ behaviors and interactions with their children, which then indirectly or directly influence
choices they make in the future.

ENVIRONMENT

Throughout a career, an individual seeks to accommodate the surroundings with one’s goals,
while at the same period of time being assimilated into the environment, (Kroll, et al., 1970). Career
development is stabilizing or recognizing and meeting requirements of the individual while at the same
time answering to the outer forces and realities of life. Career decision factors involve to sets of input,
the self and the world of work. The individual in a career has permanently stabilized one’s aspirations
and how they have fitted into the reality of the workforce. “Man’s occupation determines the kind of
persons he becomes since, through his working hours, his cognitions about himself, his wants and goals,
and his interpersonal response traits are molded”, (Kroll et al., 1970, p. 19). The author went on to say
that much of the informal and formal knowledge provided through the society and the environment has
focused on acquisition, retention, and utilization of information pertaining to the world. The researcher
observed that both of the self and world emerge as important factors in the constructs, that it would
have attained, that it would have become the important features in the acquisition, retention, and
translation of information about one’s self, (Kroll et al., 1970).

Environmental play a significant role in the career position. The students attains in many ways,
the environment that is spoken about here is a factor that is to nurture decisions in career choice.
Availing a better environment for a student who wants to cross gender lines while choosing a career,
skills present in males and females alike have been indicative of their vocational interests. Grace
Lalerger, in her Ph. D dissertation set out to ascertain the skill levels of girls as they applied to interest
that the girls had. The conclusion showed that there was a disappointingly low correlation of skills to
interest, (Lalerger, 1942). These kinds of studies have shown how difficult it is to break the code of
motivation that students may possess. The fact that Lalerger’s study was done on 1942 shows that
gender bias and the study of it is nothing new, and may continue to be an always present part of the
career choice process. One means of prompting students to participate in the career choice planning is a
mandated to require Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, District C’s students to submit a
description of their plans for some post secondary education or training to school officials; or atleast
explain their future career paths in detail.

Under this first year trail policy, the graduates need to spell out those goals, which could include college,
trade school, the military or other options, even if they have not met the requirement to graduate,
(Cavanagh, 2002). The intent of the career explanation was to have students with low expectations talk
with counselors about option for advancing their careers in the future. However, it has been shown that
counselors cannot “Do it All”. In a chapter titled “Career counseling realities” , discusses what counselors
can and cannot do. Counselors can draw career preferences to the forefront, in reflecting of student’s
preferences clarifying career preferences, summarizing and encouraging student’s career preferences.
Counselors should not be engaged with the evaluation for example, telling the students what they are or
are not capable of doing counselors should not moralize or tell the students what they should do, what
their motives should be, or persuade the student to adopt a different point of view. Career counselors
are ineffective if they try to dictate, judge or decide the student’s values and finally, counselors should
not make predictions that go beyond tha capability of their training, (Weiler, 1977). For students to
provide themselves with answers to career choice questions, decision- making has become a tool to
form career choice, (Kroll et al., 1970). Cited Super’s (1990) own research, which indicates that the
decision making process concerning one’s career is not so much a function of the information amend to
the individuals, but more the process of maturity and planning. Kroll cites Clarke, Gelatt and Levine in
which they stressed that good decision- making relied upon adequate information and effective
strategies for making choice. Students can help themselves in to decide with from reality,
communication, and learning to operate autonomously are fundamental building blocks used in
effective career planning. In order to succeed in obtaining their goals, students must know what they
want and instead concentrate on meeting other people’s expectation. In doing this we end up spending
most of our time making to other people’s drums, (Weiler, 1077, p. 57).

Kroll has provided models of the decision making process, John Dewey’s Model describes five noticeable
steps: perfective state, suggestion, intellectualization, hypothesis, and then reasoning, (Kroll et al.,
1970). Another from Poyla,( cited in Kroll et al., 1970) describes four basic areas in the decision making
process: First, Understanding the problem, second, seeing how various items of the problem are linked
in order to formulate a plan, third, carrying out the plan, and fourth is reviewing and discussing the
completed solution. Brim, Glass, Lavin, and Goodman work from different point of view utilizing a exact
scientific method exploring how people make decisions. Their decision making model includes problem
identification, information acquisition, solution production, solution evaluation, strategy selection, and
actual performance with subsequent learning and revision cited in, (Kroll et al., 1970). Tiedman and
D’Haro have their process in phases: Personal, Value, and Desires have seldom been realized without
the active and conscious efforts of the part of the students. The students must be motivated to the
outcome. If the student wants to work in the career choice, the student must know and understand the
realities of that process. Only when the student has developed awareness, can they begin to avoid
deciling wit the myths within the process as a whole. It is at the point that the student develops a
practical plan of action to get what they want from the decisions of their career choice. Most students
be rather on the reality of what is so stated, ( Weiler, 1977).

INTERESTS

It is important for students to have a good understanding of themselves, their personality, if

they are to make intelligent career plans. What they would like to be, and what they are like, is
determining factors in their career. The personality factors to be considered include their mental
abilities, special abilities and interest, (Slaver, 1977, p.13). Considered factors of mental abilities to be
verbal comprehension, word fluency ability, spatial ability, numerical ability, reasoning ability, and
memory. Splaver matched careers with abilities in backing up her reasoning. Students become familiar
with their personality in order to guide their career choice. A developed career plan included evaluation
of personality through self assessment, and communication with others another trait that depended
heavily on personality, according to Harris and Jones (1997).

There have been numerous career clusters, as well as career clashers that coincide with abilities.
The students should become knowledgeable in these areas while searching for career interests.
Personality has been a tough quality for parents and teachers to mold into the individual especially if the
career in question is not in agreement with student. In addition contacts are a major job seeking
method. The student’s personality must match the criteria for their chosen career. Personality is defined
as the collection or impressions in the appearance of the student’s body and the impressions believed to
have been made on others good.

APTITUDE

When choosing a career you should also take your own abilities into consideration. For example, if you
do not perform well in an academic setting, it would be best to avoid hierarchical occupations where
continuing education is essential to success. Seek a career that will maximize your strengths and
minimize your weaknesses.

Everyone has unique talents that can be used in a career of some type. For many, these talents have
been present since childhood; for others they are learned over time. Skills can be broken down by types
and matched up with specific career paths. In order to determine what career you should choose, begin
by looking at skills that can be used on the job or look at career paths that compliment your current
skills and talents.

Considering your skills and abilities and how they may fit a particular occupation comes out of one of the
earliest career development fields, Trait-Factor theories, and is still used today. These theories
recommend creating occupational profiles for specific jobs as well as identifying individual differences,
matching individuals to occupations based on these differences. You can identify activities you enjoy and
those in which you have a level of competency though a formal assessment. 

In John Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice, he stated that people who choose to work in an
environment compatible to their personality type are more likely to be satisfied and be successful in the
future. He also identified that there are six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social,
Enterprising, and Conventional. Also, there are six basic types of work environments that come hand in
hand with each personality type. The theory is based from the phrase, "Birds of the same feather flock
together.", which means that people are more likely to choose a career path in an environment which is
suitable to their personalities and to work with people who are more similar to them. (Holland, 1985) It
shows that the personality of each Grade 9 students can affect their choice in their career. Everyone has
unique talents that can be used in a career of some type. For many, these talents have been present
since childhood; for others they are learned over time. Skills can be broken down by types and matched
up with specific career paths. In order to determine what career you should choose, begin by looking at
skills that can be used on the job or look at career paths that compliment your current skills and talents.
Also, with the theory of Lent, Brown and Hackett which is The Social Cognitive Career Theory. It states
that there are influences in an individual’s career choice which connects to self-efficacy, outcome
expectations and personal goals and on how these variables interact with other aspects of the person
and his or her environment (e.g., gender, ethnicity, social supports, and barriers.). Also with Roe (1987),
Adigwe (1981), Okeke (1996), Gesinde (1986) they had said that Parental influence has been implicated
in the career choice of children. Adding up with Gesinde (1976) statement, that gender can play a big
part in their career choice. Therefore, the abovementioned factors affect the career choice of grade 9
students.

In Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)

The Social Cognitive Career Theory states that there are influences in an individual’s career choice which
connects to self-efficacy, outcome expectations and personal goals. SCCT focuses on several cognitive-
person variables (e.g. self efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals), and on how these variables
interact with other aspects of the person and his or her environment (e.g., gender, ethnicity, social
supports, and barriers.)