The educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of high school students in Newfoundland

Long, Mary Elizabeth (1972) The educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of high school students in Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The primary purposes of this study were: (1) to survey the educational and occupational aspirations of high school students in Newfoundland, and (2) to survey the factors which the students perceived as important influences in these aspirations and expectations. -- The subjects of the study were 1433 high school students representing twelve schools located in widely separated communities in Newfoundland. In the selection of these schools, a stratified random sampling procedure was used, the basis of stratification being size of school. A questionnaire administered to all students in the sample served as the means of data collection. -- Analysis of the students' responses to the questionnaire indicated that high school students in Newfoundland appeared to have high aspirations for their future education; more than 80 percent of the participants both aspired and expected to continue their education after high school. The majority of the students whose aspirations and expectations were different attributed this difference to "low grades in school subjects". Similarly, the occupational aspirations and expectations appeared to be high; more than 35 percent aspired and expected to enter professional and technical occupations. The factor that most of the students considered important in their occupational aspirations was interest in the work, while change of interest was the reason which they felt might cause them not to enter the occupation they desired. Although some differences were found between the students' aspirations and expectations, there was a high degree of consistency between them; more than 75 percent of the students expected to enter the occupation to which they aspired. -- Since the significance of the study rested mainly on the value it might have as an aid to provincial educational planning and as a source of information for school counsellors in Newfoundland, one of the recommendations for further research emanating from it was a survey of: (1) the present and projected educational (training) facilities in the province, and (2) the present and projected occupational offerings in the province. Such data, when compared to students' aspirations and expectations, may prove valuable in determining the direction the province of Newfoundland may need to move in educational planning and occupational development.

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