IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v5y2016i1p5-d63054.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Athletes to Astrophysicists: Gender Differences in Patterns and Predictors of Career Aspirations in Pre-Adolescence

Author

Listed:
  • Brea L. Perry

    (Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Ballantine Hall 744, 1020 East Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA)

  • Edward W. Morris

    (Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, 1569 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, KY 40506, USA)

  • Tanja C. Link

    (Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice, Kennesaw State University, 402 Bartow Ave, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA)

  • Carl Leukefeld

    (Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, 111 Medical Behavioral Science Building, Lexington, KY 40506, USA)

Abstract

This paper adds to research on girls’ growing educational advantage by examining gender differences in career paths. Using baseline data from an intervention study (TRY-IT!) targeting 265 sixth-graders in Title I schools, our research traces adolescent career aspirations by gender, race and class. Additionally, we investigate whether girls and boys exhibit differential sensitivity to environmental risk and protective factors that shape career and educational aspirations. We find that the career choices of boys vary more widely by social context, including socioeconomic status, race, and academic resources. Specifically, among youth with fewer social and academic advantages, girls aspire to more practical careers and careers which require higher levels of educational attainment relative to boys. The findings reveal how sources of inequality such as race and class shape gendered aspirations and complicate gender inequality. We reason that boys’ choices are more volatile and socially contingent because of the emphasis on high-status careers as a signifier of masculinity.

Suggested Citation

  • Brea L. Perry & Edward W. Morris & Tanja C. Link & Carl Leukefeld, 2016. "From Athletes to Astrophysicists: Gender Differences in Patterns and Predictors of Career Aspirations in Pre-Adolescence," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:5-:d:63054
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/5/1/5/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/5/1/5/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:5-:d:63054. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.