The role of social stereotypes in the process of professional self-determination of youth

Abstract

Background. The problem of young people’s choice of profession is currently one of the most pressing, which is due to a number of objective reasons associated with the transformation of the labor market, as well as subjective orientations and attitudes of young people. The purpose of the study is to analyze the role of social stereotypes about humani-tarian training areas and specialties in the process of professional self-determination of young people. Materials and methods. The methods of scientific analysis and generaliza-tion of the provisions of classical sociological theories, modern scientific literature, as well as statistical information on the research problems constituted the methodological basis of the study. The empirical basis of the research is the author’s sociological survey conducted among the students of the Volga Institute of Management – Branch of RANEPA and Sara-tov State National Research University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky (2022, n = 632). Results. The sociological research conducted by the author indicates that the existence of social stereotypes about professions is one of the significant factors influencing the process of professional self-determination of young people. Information contained in social stereo-types often distorts young people's ideas about professions and complicates their choice. Humanities professions are the most susceptible to stereotyping. Conclusions. The results of the study indicate the need for systematic work with existing social stereotypes about professions. However, such work should be carried out not only by higher education institu-tions, but also by other social institutions and organizations.

Keywords

• social stereotypes
• professional self-determination
• profession
• higher educa-tion
• youth