Achievement, agency, gender, and socioeconomic background as predictors of postschool choices: a multicontext study.
In this article, the authors develop and test a differential effects model of university entry versus major selection using a set of common predictors, including background factors (gender and socioeconomic status), academic achievement, and academic self-concept. The research used data from 2 large longitudinal databases from Germany (N = 5,048) and England (N = 15,995) to explore the generalizability of the hypothesized model in 2 cultural contexts. For both countries, the results suggested that (a) socioeconomic status was a key predictor of university entry, whereas gender was a key predictor of major selection; (b) achievement and self-concept in both math and English were positive predictors of university entry; and (c) math achievement and self-concept predicted math-intensive major choice and lower likelihood of entering verbal-intensive majors (and vice versa). Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Center for Educational Science and Psychology, University of Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany. philip.parker@uws.edu.au
Philip D
PD
Parker
Ingrid
I
Schoon
Yi-Miau
YM
Tsai
Gabriel
G
Nagy
Ulrich
U
Trautwein
Jacquelynne S
JS
Eccles
D002321:Career Choice; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004522:Educational Status; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult