The development of gendered occupational aspirations across adolescence: examining the role of different types of upper-secondary education

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Authors

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External Research Organisations

  • Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development
  • Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET)
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)173-199
Number of pages27
JournalLongitudinal and Life Course Studies
Volume12
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Abstract

Gender-typical educational and occupational goals are an important precursor of educational gender segregation and unequal opportunities of men and women in the labour market. However, little is known about how gender-typical aspirations develop during childhood and adolescence. Drawing on identity and opportunity arguments from a developmental perspective, this paper attempts to fill this gap by examining whether and to what extent gender-typical aspirations change during adolescence and how track allocation in secondary school is related to the development of gendered occupational aspirations between the ages of 15 and 21. The analyses are based on the Swiss Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. They include an observation span of six years, during which respondents were surveyed at the ages of 15, 16, 18 and 21.
The findings show that gender-typical occupational aspirations were most prevalent at the age of 15. Their level and development differed by upper-secondary school track and gender. Young men’s aspirations were considerably more gender-typical than those of young women. Aspirations became less gender-typical for women in baccalaureate school and in initial vocational education and training programmes with high academic requirements and, in particular, for young men who entered vocational education and training with low requirements. Overall, our results support the assumption that changes in gender-typical aspirations during adolescence are the result of an interplay between opportunity structures offered by the upper-secondary school track, identity and status considerations.

Keywords

    Adolescence, Educational system, Gender segregation, Occupational aspirations, Tracking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

The development of gendered occupational aspirations across adolescence: examining the role of different types of upper-secondary education. / Basler, Ariane; Kriesi, Irene; Imdorf, Christian.
In: Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2021, p. 173-199.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Basler A, Kriesi I, Imdorf C. The development of gendered occupational aspirations across adolescence: examining the role of different types of upper-secondary education. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. 2021;12(2):173-199. doi: 10.1332/175795920x16015782777176
Basler, Ariane ; Kriesi, Irene ; Imdorf, Christian. / The development of gendered occupational aspirations across adolescence: examining the role of different types of upper-secondary education. In: Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. 2021 ; Vol. 12, No. 2. pp. 173-199.
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