Occupational aspirations and academic achievement

Rethinking the direction of effects and the role of socioeconomic status in middle childhood and adolescence

Bibliographic Data

ID10220134
AuthorsJeongeun Park (0000-0003-3840-0256, Department of Education University of Sussex Brighton UK), Jeong-Eun Park (0000-0003-3073-4075, University of Sussex, corresponding author), Jo Rose (0000-0003-2810-6491, School of Education University of Bristol Bristol UK), Shelley Mckeown (0000-0002-3837-3692, Department of Experimental Psychology University of Oxford Oxford UK), Elizabeth Washbrook (0000-0001-5510-6476, School of Education University of Bristol Bristol UK)
Year2024
Volume80
Issue4
Pages1408-1432
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social Issues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4537 • E-ISSN: 1540-4560
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/josi.12655
OpenAlexW4405020286
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited69

Research into the relation between occupational aspirations and academic achievement has substantially grown. What remains unclear, however, is whether and how this relation, including the direction of effects, (1) unfolds dynamically in middle childhood and adolescence and (2) varies by socioeconomic status (SES). The present study aimed to address this, using the contemporary and nationally representative data from England through the UK's Millennium Cohort Study (Analytic N = 5517) and applying random intercept cross‐lagged panel modelling. Results showed that achievement unidirectionally and positively predicted aspirations in middle childhood. Achievement and aspirations predicted each other cyclically in adolescence, although their magnitudes varied. Moderation analysis demonstrated that this cyclical relation in adolescence was only significant amongst high and medium SES groups. For the low SES group, aspirations did not significantly predict achievement at any age point, despite relatively high aspirations. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, especially the differential effect of occupational aspirations in driving academic outcomes by SES

Academic achievement · Cohort · Cohort study · Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Economics · Millennium Cohort Study (United States · Moderation · Panel data · Population · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Early Childhood Education and Development · Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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