Career Values and Occupational Aspirations of Adolescents and Their Parents Aspire for the Future of Their Child

Abstract

This qualitative explorative case study investigated career values and occupational aspirations of adolescent girls and boys and those that their parents aspired to for their child’s future. 45 high school students (53% girls) and their parents (n=45), from a relatively collectivist city in the Southeast region of Turkey participated to the study. Results showed that girls and their parents noted economic security; boys and their parents mentioned cultural identity, in common. Girls, boys, and their parents, all, attached importance to prestige, achievement, and loyalty to family. It was seen that both girls and boys appreciated leisure time besides work and life style, differently from their parents. In terms of occupational aspirations, while adolescent girls aspired to be English language teacher, doctor, nurse, and architect, mostly, adolescent boys aspired to be military pilot and officer, police officer, and doctor in the future. Girls' parents mentioned doctor, nurse, teacher, and lawyer and boys’ parents underlined engineer, lawyer and police officer as their aspirations for their children’s future occupations. The results implied the role of parental and contextual influences within a communal culture as well as adolescents’ own generational characteristics on career values and occupational aspirations.

Keywords

• career values
• occupational aspirations
• adolescents
• parental aspirations
• culture