The relationship between children's vocational interests and their knowledge and perceptions about occupations
Abstract
The study examined the antecedents of career development using Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription and compromise as a foundation for the study. Using a mixed-methods, exploratory research approach, the proposed study examined children’s knowledge about prototypical occupations, their perceptions of those occupations, their vocational interests, and the relationships among those variables. Children enrolled in the third and fifth grades completed an open thought listing measure and the Inventory of Children’s Activities-Revised (Tracey & Ward, 1998). Data were analyzed using valenced scores, content analysis, and discriminant analyses to identify discriminant functions predicting simulated career choice from within the variables. Children had little knowledge about prototypical careers, and that knowledge was rarely connected with their career choice. Nor were their vocational interests connected with career choice. Discriminant functions were identified from the open thought listing variables for fifth-grade girls and third-grade boys and from the Inventory of Children’s Activities for fifth-grade girls and third-grade girls.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Kelly, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Counseling Psychology|Developmental psychology
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