Implications of social supports for adolescents' education and career aspirations

Two hundred and sixty grade 9 through 12 students completed questionnaires designed to examine relations among social support, perception of future opportunity, and education and career aspirations and expectations. Path analyses showed that for both males and females, perception of opportunity predicts educational expectations, which, in turn, predict educational aspirations and career expectations. For females, peer, family and teacher supports predict perception of opportunity, whereas for males only family support is predictive of perception of opportunity. ANOVAs demonstrated that females perceive more teacher and peer support than do males, and that compared to their male peers, females have greater perceived future opportunity, educational aspirations and expectations, and career expectations. Both males and females indicate a greater gap between career aspirations and expectations than between education aspirations and expectations. The possible contributions of socioeconomic conditions and gendered socialization are discussed.