The Career Development Needs of Rural Elementary School Students

Vocational knowledge in rural children: A study of individual differences and predictors of occupational aspirations and expectations

“…No statistical differences in vocational cognition were found between males and females, or between those qualifying for free or reduced lunch and those that did not. The lack of relationship between SES and vocational knowledge is consistent with results obtained by Phipps (1995) who also did not find an association between SES, indexed by free or reduced lunch, and student interests (Phipps, 1995), as well as the findings regarding the general career development of students reported by Wood and Kaszubowski (2008). The current results contrast with those of Rojewski and Yang (1997) who found that SES (as measured by family income along with parents' educational and occupational attainment) was a significant predictor of children's occupational aspirations.…”

“…The dynamic nature of aspirations as proposed by Gottfredson begs the question as to the mechanisms underlying the development of childhood aspirations, when aspirations include the broadest spectrum of possibilities. Furthermore, Wood and Kaszubowski (2008) cite the role of individual differences, such as SES and gender, which influence occupational aspirations and knowledge about careers. Building on the importance of individual difference variables (Gottfredson, 1981;Wood & Kaszubowski, 2008) known to contribute to the development of occupational plans, our intention was to address this gap in the literature by examining how variability in vocational knowledge predicts career aspirations and expectations of children, over and above other individual difference variables.…”

Occupational Interests and Aspirations of Rural Black South African Children: Considerations for Theory, Research and Practice

“…Schultheiss, Palma and Manzi (2005), in referring to the lack of a research focus on lower socioeconomic urban children, point out that this at-risk population is in most need of career intervention. The research of rural elementary children's career development appears even more limited, although it has been suggested that rural elementary school boys score lower on the career developmental dimension of curiosity (Wood & Kaszubowski, 2008).…”

College and Career Readiness in Elementary Schools

“…In another study (n=150), the career development needs of fourth-grade students from two rural school districts (Wood & Kaszubowski, 2008) were explored using a scale to measure Donald Super's nine dimensions (Super, 1990) of career development during the growth stage, the period when students fantasize and develop likes/dislikes and abilities/potential relating to careers. Results highlighted the gender disparity related to levels of career curiosity, comprehension of career information, and identification of key career figures that were matched with their career aspirations.…”