Children’s and Fathers’ Perceptions of Children’s Competence and Occupational Interests

Abstract

The study attempts to understand how self evaluation in the child changes across differing periods of childhood and the interrelation between children’s perceived competence and the perception of the father in the four selected domains of competence. The study tested children’s perceptions of self competence, the father’s perception of the child’s competence and vocational aspirations. Ninety children from three occupational groups (thirty in each) rated themselves in four domains of competence- cognitive, social, physical and general self worth. The father of each child was also required to rate his child in the four domains of competence. Children’s ratings of self competence increased with age in the cognitive, social and general self worth domains of competence indicating better perceptions of self efficacy with development. Children in the business sector had higher ratings of self competence as compared to children in the service or skilled occupations. Father’s perception of their children did not differ with age or occupation in all domains of competence, except for self worth ratings of the child, which increased with age. The results indicated that with increasing age children’s perceptions of themselves become more veridical with the views of their father as indicated by the more number of significant correlations amongst children at the beginning of late childhood.