The Career Aspirations of Rural Appalachian High School Students

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contributions of several social cognitive career theory (SCCT) factors in predicting the career aspirations of a group of high school students living in the central part of rural Appalachia. Sixty-three high school students completed measures assessing their vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, career decision outcome expectations, socioeconomic status (SES), age, and their perceptions of familial and peer support. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated that 52% of the variance associated with career aspirations was accounted for by the SCCT variables. Findings indicated that the majority of the variance was accounted for by vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, SES, and career decision outcome expectations. Given the cultural considerations of this population, these findings suggest that lower SES rural Appalachian high school students might benefit from targeted interventions that are designed to increase their confidence and expectations about their future.