Work possible selves: hopes, expectations, and their links to motivation in vocational high school students

• Main Authors: Yvonne Chang, 張詠婷
• Other Authors: Sung, Yao-Ting
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/01912183008547812348

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 教育心理與輔導學系 === 98 === 　　To better understand the unique place of vocational high school students in Taiwan’s educational system so as to provide adequate career counseling, and to inform educational policies for vocational high school students, this study explores the relations between vocational students' conceptions of their work futures and their learning motivation in school. 　　Using the construct of work possible selves, this study surveyed 923 vocational high school students in terms of their hoped-for and expected work possible selves, career and status aspirations, career and status expectations, and finally, their learning motivation. This study also examines the relationships among work possible selves, their discrepancies and demographic variables including gender, socioeconomic status, and grade levels. Students’ work possible selves were measured utilizing the Work Possible Selves Inventory that researcher has developed for the present study. Further, students provided occupational titles regarding their career aspirations and expectations, all of which were classified utilizing Holland’s RIASEC types and five prestige levels. Results from Pearson Product Moment correlations indicated that work possible selves are related to learning motivation, in particular, expected work selves correlated more strongly with learning motivation than hoped-for selves. Work possible selves discrepancies were found to be negatively related to learning motivation. ANOVA calculations among hoped-for work selves, and expected work selves showed significant gender differences, with males scoring higher in both hoped-for and expected work selves, and lower in work possible selves discrepancies than females. Results of ANOVA supported developmental patterns in work possible selves across grade levels: Students in the first year held higher aspirations than students in the second year, while third year students were associated with a higher discrepancy between hoped-for and expected work possible selves. ANOVA calculation did not indicate socioeconomic status differences in expected work selves and work possible selves discrepancies. The analysis, however, did indicate SES difference in hoped-for selves, suggesting that a lower SES position is associated with lower scores in hoped-for selves. Students in the study generally aspired to work within the artistic, enterprising job categories, but they were most likely to expect working in the conventional and realistic occupations. A significantly large proportion (59.4%) of students reported career aspirations that are discrepant in RIASEC category from their career expectations. Equally high proportions of males aspired to realistic, investigative, and artistic categories, however, only the realistic and investigative occupations were expected the most. On the contrary, females most frequently aspired to artistic and conventional occupations, but expected the conventional and social occupations the most. The results of this investigation reveal significant gender differences in the types of occupations vocational high school students aspire to and expect to pursue and that they followed traditional gender patterns in the study. Males and females also differed in career status that they aspire to and expect to pursue. Males were more likely than females to aspire to and expect professional level occupations while being less likely to choose skilled occupations. The presence of an aspiration-expectation gap measured in terms of occupational titles and career status levels in the vocational domain remains evident