The Influence of the Parent-Offspring Relationship on Young People's Career Preferences

Abstract

Abstract. This study examined the connection between the interpersonal relationship between parents and their offspring and the career preferences of the younger generation. While earlier studies suggest that the family plays a major role in young people's career choices, the specific dynamics of this influence have received very little research attention. We hypothesized that a high-quality parent-offspring relationship would be associated with a similarity between the parents' careers and job characteristics and their son/daughter's preferences for their future career. The sample consisted of 280 participants: 146 12 th grade students and 134 university students. No significant correlation was found between the quality of the parent-offspring relationship and the similarity of careers. However, among participants reporting a highquality relationship with their parents, a positive correlation was found between the parents' job characteristics and their children's desired job characteristics. The results therefore indicate that the parental influence on young people's career preferences is mediated by the quality of the parent-offspring relationship. Keywords: parent offspring relationship, career preferences, joung people, job characteristics.Resumen. Este estudio examinó la influencia de la relación interpersonal entre padres e hijos y las preferencias de carrera de la generación más joven. Mientras que estudios anteriores sugieren que la familia juega un papel importante en la elección de carrera de los jóvenes, la dinámica específica de esta influencia ha recibido muy poca atención en la investigación. Nosotros hipotetizamos que una relación paternofilial de alta calidad se asociaría con una similitud entre las características de los puestos y carreras de los padres y las preferencias de sus hijos sobre sus futuras carreras. La muestra estaba compuesta por 280 participantes: 146 estudiantes de 12 º grado y 134 estudiantes universitarios. No se encontró correlación significativa entre la calidad de la relación padres-hijos y la similitud de las carreras. Sin embargo, entre los participantes que informaron de una relación de alta calidad, existe una correlación positiva entre las características del puesto de los padres y las características del puesto deseadas por sus hijos. Los resultados indican que la influencia de los padres en las preferencias profesionales de los jóvenes está mediada por la calidad de la relación padres-hijos. Palabras clave: relación paterno-filiales, preferencias de carrera, jóvenes, características del puesto.

Career plateauing and its relationship with secondary school teachers’ pursuit of post-graduate studies in Nyandarua and Murang’a counties, Kenya

“…He observed that masters qualifications will become the norm within the teaching profession. Woods (2012) states that a career map is formed through observation of colleagues while Loberman and Tziner (2011) concur that this map is constructed from the peoples' own perceptions of the career performance of significant peers which is underpinned by values. Masters Degree is clearly valued in society and this concept along with the Masters Degree becoming the norm explains the emergent culture whereby teachers are pursuing masters in order to be at the same level as their colleagues, both in terms of qualifications and in terms of the perceived status in their working context.…”