Abstract
Research into the relation between occupational aspirations and academic achievement has substantially grown. What remains unclear, however, is whether and how this relation, including the direction of effects, (1) unfolds in middle childhood and adolescence within children and (2) varies by socio-economic status (SES). The present study aimed to address this, using the contemporary and nationally representative data from England through the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (Analytic N=5517) and applying random intercept cross-lagged panel modelling. Within-person results showed that achievement unidirectionally and positively predicted aspirations in middle childhood. Achievement and aspirations predicted each other cyclically in adolescence, although their magnitudes varied. Moderation analysis demonstrated that this cyclical relation in adolescence was only significant amongst high and medium SES groups. For the low SES group, aspirations did not significantly predict achievement at any age point, despite relatively high aspirations. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, especially the differential effect of occupational ambition in driving educational outcomes by SES.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1408-1432 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Journal of Social Issues |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 3 Dec 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 3 Dec 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Social Issues published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
Keywords
- Occupational aspirations
- Academic achievement
- socio-economic status
- middle childhood and adolescence
- random intercept cross-lagged panel models