On the Relationship between Socio-economic Status and Educational and Career Aspirations in the Middle Years of Schooling

Government agendas in Australia are oriented toward greater equity, in general, and wider participation in higher education in particular. While previous Australian studies have investigated students’ educational and career... [ view full abstract ]

Government agendas in Australia are oriented toward greater equity, in general, and wider participation in higher education in particular. While previous Australian studies have investigated students’ educational and career aspirations in the later years of high school, few studies have systematically examined their earlier formation in the middle years of schooling. We report on our ARC Linkage project which is gathering data from students, teachers and parents from varying social settings in order to investigate socioeconomic influences on the emerging aspirations of students in the middle years. A ‘composite capital construct’ utilising theories of Bourdieu (1986), and Becker and Tomes (1986) was used to theoretically frame the investigation. Drawing on data from the first three years (2012-2014) of a mixed-method longitudinal study of over 5900 students in Years 3-11 in New South Wales public schools, we map the intersection of the career aspirations of students with SES and other demographic variables in order to contribute to the evidence base for academic, educational and political work on access to higher education and the policies, practices, and outcomes that might ensue. Our analyses demonstrate both the early solidification of students’ aspirations and the significant, but complex impact of socioeconomic differences.