Influences, values and career aspirations of future professionals in education: a gender perspective

Abstract

Many studies have explored the barriers that hinder women's access to the top positions in schools, but little information exists about the motivations and aspirations of students working toward education-related degrees in Spain. What do these students hope to achieve? Why do they choose their careers? Is gender a determinant in their career plans? Exploring these questions can help us understand the distribution of gender in different jobs in education. Using a narrative approach, this study collected information about the influences, values and aspirations of 18 students (11 women). In-depth interviews were conducted with five of them. The results show that students' career choices were essentially vocational, with most people searching for care-based jobs as a means for personal fulfilment. Gender differences were scarce and subtle; there was some family pressure on girls' decisions, and also more female than male students stated that they felt more “naturally” prepared to take care of others.

Keywords:

• gender
• students' goals and aspirations
• career plans
• education-related degrees and jobs

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr Jose M. Lavié for his advice and comments on the previous version of this article.