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).

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.)