Self efficacy parental support and school climate as predictors of career aspirations of adolescent girls in Kerala

Abstract

It is the education system that set students with the upgraded skills andproficient competencies they need to succeed in the modern world. The majorobjective of schooling is to prepare the learner to enter into a career. The period ofadolescence is a turning point in the life of students; they make career choices duringthis period of study. Students’ aspirations influence their future career. Career touchesthe entire quality of an individual’s life, not only just a means of earning for living,but also helps in moulding identity and personal fulfilment. Career goals of everyindividual play a vital role in the nation’s development also as they stimulate theeconomic progress as well as inspire creative innovation. Career aspirations refer tothe dreams, goals and plans on future. There are several personal, familial, social,psychological and environmental factors which influence career aspirations ofadolescent girls. The present study is intended to find out the extent of careeraspirations of adolescent girls in Kerala and relative efficiency of the variables, self-efficacy, parental support and school climate in predicting career aspirations. Sevenobjectives were set forth for the study and nine suitable hypotheses were proposed intune with the objectives. The study is correlational research with predictive designconducted on a sample of 1097 X and XII standard girls selected using stratifiedsampling technique from 21 schools of six districts of Kerala state. The instrumentsemployed for data collection were Scale on Career Aspirations, Scale on Self-Efficacy, Scale on Parental Support and School Climate Scale. The statisticaltechniques such as percentile analysis, mean difference analysis, correlational analysisand multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. Findings of the studyindicate that, adolescent girls of Kerala have a moderate level of Career Aspirations;there is significant difference in the Career Aspirations and its components based onlocale of the school, level of education, parental education and religion; self-efficacy,parental support and school climate are predictors of Career Aspirations of adolescentgirls. The variables in the order of individual contribution in predicting careeraspirations of adolescent girls are Self-Efficacy, Parental Support and School Climate.The present study provides valuable insights for educational interventionsemphasising the importance of fostering career aspirations of adolescents especiallygirls and providing supportive environment by teachers, parents, educators,counsellors and other stake holders.