How Important Are Parental Career Expectations? A Subtle and Long-Term Influence on Adolescents' Career Aspirations

Perceived parental expectations of adolescents have been linked to many high school consequences, yet few studies have examined the relationship between perceived parental expectations and adolescents' career aspirations, and potential mechanisms that underlie these associations. To address this research gap, this study investigated the reciprocal relationship between perceived parental expectations and career aspirations, as well as the mediating role of adolescents' career exploration among Chinese adolescents. Using a longitudinal design, a total of 2540 senior high school students (51.38% girls, Mage = 17.09 ± 0.69) participated in the study. The results showed that perceived parental expectations of adolescents have no direct impact on their subsequent career aspirations. A longitudinal mediating role of career exploration was found between perceived parental expectations and career aspirations. No gender differences were found in any of the pathways. These findings provided support for helping adolescents better set their career aspirations by acknowledging the critical role of parental expectations and the mediating role of career exploration.

Moderated Mediation Model for the Association of Educational Identity and Career Identity Development of Physical Education Students

Introduction

Education and vocation are crucial to one's identity. The current study aimed to see the association between educational identity and career identity development among Chinese PE students. The mediating effect of self-efficacy on educational identity and career identity was explored. Further, the study intended to see the moderating role of gender for the mediating effect of self-efficacy between educational identity and career identity development.

Methods

A total of 369 (age range= 16-22) Chinese PE students were recruited as participants in the study. There were 180 (48.8%) males and 189 (51.2%) females in the sample. Hayes process model 58 was applied to develop a moderated mediation model.

Results

The results reported that there was a significant positive association between educational identity with self-efficacy and career identity. However, self-efficacy was not related to career identity. Further, self-efficacy did not play a mediating role between educational identity and career identity development. On the other hand, gender significantly moderated the mediating effect of self-efficacy between educational identity and career identity development.

Discussion

The study suggests that individuals who have a strong sense of educational identity are more likely to possess higher levels of self-efficacy and a clearer understanding of their career goals. However, it is notable that self-efficacy did not directly impact career identity, suggesting the presence of other factors influencing this aspect of identity formation. Interestingly, moderating role of gender suggests that the influence of self-efficacy on career identity development may vary depending on one's gender, highlighting the importance of considering gender-specific factors in career-related interventions and counseling programs. The practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed.

Implications

The practical implications of this study suggest the importance of educational identity, the need for comprehensive career counseling interventions, and the consideration of gender-specific factors. The theoretical implications contribute to identity development theory, mediation and moderation frameworks, and cross-cultural research on career identity.

Employability of students in vocational secondary school: Role of psychological capital and student-parent career congruences

The main problem of vocational secondary school graduates is unemployment or inactive youth. Apart from developing their ability, external support, particularly from their parents, is also important for students in a collectivistic country like Indonesia. Therefore, this study aims to predict the role of psychological capital and perceived student-parent career congruences to the employability development of vocational secondary school students. Participants were 317 final-year students from rural private vocational secondary schools in Indonesia, 46.23% male and 31.76% female. They were 17-19 years old, mean age of 17.21 and standard deviation of 0.64. The data were analyzed by hierarchical regression analysis. We found that psychological capital and student-parent career congruences were indeed significantly correlated with employability development in the vocational secondary school students. These findings are beneficial for vocational schools in preparing the school program to improve students' psychological ability and work readiness. The results also give some insights for parents to provide facilitative support for their children to make them more employable as vocational graduates.

The Relationships Between Career-Related Emotional Support From Parents and Teachers and Career Adaptability

Career-related support from parents and teachers plays an essential role in the process of promoting young people's career development. This study examined the relationship between parents' and teachers' career-related support and career adaptability among Chinese male primary school preservice teachers (N = 772). The participants completed the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Short Version (CAAS), the Career-Related Parental Support Scale (CRPSS), and the Career-Related Teacher Support Scale (CRTSS). Results showed that a high level of emotional support from parents and teachers had more effects on the career adaptability of Chinese male primary school preservice teachers then other aspects in the scale, and teachers' emotional support is more important than parents' emotional support. Notably, there is a complex correlation among education level and occupation of parents and their children's occupational adaptability. These findings carry implications for supporting teachers and parents in facilitating preservice teachers' career adaptability. Future research could identify the differential effects of different forms of teacher support and parental support relate to career adaptability.

To Be Successful and/or Comfortable? Parental Career Expectations and Chinese Undergraduates’ Career Indecisiveness across Gender

This study explored the association between two parental career expectations (reward/prestige and comfort/stability) and career indecisiveness with the moderation of gender in 523 Chinese undergraduates. We found that women undergraduates perceived lower parental reward/prestige and higher comfort/stability expectations than men. Perceived parental comfort/stability expectations on career indecisiveness were significant for men but non-significant for women. Results indicated a three-way interaction among parental expectations of reward/prestige, parental expectations of comfort/stability, and students’ gender in the prediction of career indecisiveness. For women, perceived parental comfort/stability and reward/prestige expectations had a significant interactive effect on career indecisiveness. Perceived parental reward/prestige expectations were positively associated with career indecisiveness only when they perceived higher levels of parental comfort/stability expectations. For men, perceived parental comfort/stability and reward/prestige expectations had no interactive effect on career indecisiveness. We addressed the importance of joint influences of differential parental expectations on young adults’ career decision-making across gender.

The impact of career-related parental behaviors on career decision-making self-efficacy and ambivalence-A latent growth model

INTRODUCTION

The current study investigated the developmental trajectory of adolescents' career decision-making self-efficacy (self-efficacy) and ambivalence in career decision-making (ambivalence) as well as the longitudinal impact of career-related parental behaviors (parental behaviors) on self-efficacy and self-efficacy on ambivalence.

METHODS

We recruited 588 students from two elementary schools and three middle schools from city of Guangzhou, Province Guangdong in China. Participants were from Grade 4 to Grade 9 with an average age of 11.88 (SD = 1.63), 321 (54.6%) were male, and 9 (1.53%) were missing for gender. We applied a latent growth model using data from all three waves.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

After applying a latent growth model using data from all three waves, the results have indicated that self-efficacy decreased as these participants transitioned from childhood to early adolescence, and that their ambivalence fell on an increasing trajectory. Cross-sectionally, it indicated that "support" of parental behaviors was positively associated with self-efficacy, and "interference" of parental behaviors was positively associated with ambivalence. Longitudinally, "interference" of parental behaviors was negatively predicting the change rate of self-efficacy. A predictive relation did not exist between self-efficacy and ambivalence, such that a negative correlation was observed on a cross-sectional level. Implications and limitations are discussed as well.

The My Children’s Future Scale: Construct validity, measurement invariance, and reliability in a Turkish sample

The My Children’s Future Scale (MCFS) measures the support provided by parents for their children’s careers. The aim of this study was to adapt the MCFS to Turkish and examine its psychometric characteristics in a study conducted in the Turkish context. Participants consisted of 280 parents (190 mothers and 90 fathers). The factor structure of the MCFS and measurement invariance across parent gender were examined. The unidimensional factor structure was confirmed and the scale was invariant across parent gender. In addition, the reliability of the MCFS was assessed for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients were calculated as .87, and test-retest reliability coefficient as .83. Our findings suggested that the Turkish form of the MCFS can be considered a valid and reliable data collection tool for use in Turkey to measure the support provided by parents for their children’s careers.

Aspirations held by young adults with intellectual disabilities and their mothers

This study reports on Australian small-scale exploratory descriptive research into how young people with intellectual disability and their families construct their futures. The aims of this research were to (a) better understand the future aspirations held by young adults with intellectual disability and their parents, (b) identify enablers and barriers to the achievement of these aspirations, and (c) provide insights for career practitioners who support young people with intellectual disability and their parents to achieve their personal and career goals. Participants were four young people with intellectual disabilities aged between 18 and 30 years and their mothers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Results provide a nuanced understanding of the issues facing young people with intellectual disabilities and their families in constructing their futures. Suggestions are offered that can inform career development practice and policy.