Class and Family Influences on Student Aspirations

Occupational and educational aspirationis of 800 urban high school students were studied in relation to social class and types of family influence. The actual career plans of the students were also studied. Aspirations and plans showed little variation among social classes. Only occupational plans varied significantly witlh class. However, type of influence varied dramatically with class. Maternal influence appeared to b,e stronger and more effective (relative to paternal influence) at lower class levels, regardless of the race of the student. E vidence gathered in the last decade seems overwhelmingly to indicate that social classes in the United States hold disparate values about occupational and educational aspirations. Reissman sums up this literature as follows: "There are several independent studies of widely different samples of individuals that all come to a reasonably common conclusion about aspirations: that striving for (success' is strongest among those in tlle middle or upper classes."1 However, for two reasons it was felt that this area needs further exploration. First, the dearth of theory surrounding the studies of social status and aspiration makes extrapolation to future situations quite difficult. The question should be: Why do different social strata (defined by occupation, income, or the like) seem to adhere to different subcultures? For example, do people in different social strata receive influences from differenit sources? Are they exposed to different mass media pressures? A second and related reason for reexamining differences in aspirations among social class "'subcultures" is that, indeed, times are changinig. Social structures that conditioned different values in different strata ten years ago miay well be undergoing many changes. One of these, the rapid increase in automation, has threateined many jobs formerly classed as lower or working class. At the same time there seemis to be an increased dlemandl for people to fill "higher" class jobs, like teaclher, physician, or technicians. The present study, though not attempting to answer directly the questions raised here, proposes to reexamine social class differences in attitudes toward occupations and education. The study focuses on urban high school students as the carriers of these attitudes. The study also attempts to examine differences between aspirations of the students and their actual occupational plans. This distinction was earlier made by Steplhensen,2 wllo found that in his sample different social classes did not differ significantly in their aspirations (what they wanted for a career), yet did differ in their plans (what they realistically expected to achieve). He explained this finding by proposing, contrary to the rest of the literature, that there are no maj or differences between social classes in regard to attittudes toward education and occupation. In his opinion the future plans of classes differ because of objective (lifferen-ces in opportunity. The issue is not clear-cut, however; Holloway anid Berreman3 could verify this tlheory (Steplhensen's) only witlh attitudes toward education. Where occupations were concerned the latter authors found considerable differences between lower and middle class aspirations. 2 This research was supported by grants fromn Community Studies, Inc., of Kansas City and the Research Coutncil of the University of Missouri. lLeonard Reissman, Class in American. Society (New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1959), pp. 361-362. 2 Richard M. Stephensen, "Mobility Orientation and Stratification of 1000 Ninth Graders," Amnericant Sociological Revizew, 22 (April 1957), pp. 204212. 3 Robert G. Holloway anid Joel V. Berremain, "The Educational and Occupational Aspirations and Plans of Negro and White Male Elementary Sclhool Students," Pacific Sociological Reviewzc, 2 (Fall 1959), pp. 56-60. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.123 on Tue, 18 Oct 2016 05:43:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms