Occupational Choice and the Educational System

Educ as an institution serves 2 main manifest functions: (a) training of citizens from the point of view of the state; & (b) preparing the S for a role in the economy from the point of view of the individual & the econ system. (b) gives rise to at least 3 more or less latent functions in relation to occup'al choice by the S: it provides a motive for making a choice by placing him in a situation where he must choose among alternatives to continue his educ; it makes available persons who can aid in his choices; & it provides a reality check for the choices he has made by making tests & selections all along the job preparation line. 225 Coll seniors selected randomly from 3 U's in Florida were surveyed through the use of an open-ended & multiple choice questionnaire. The results from this survey were used to examine the existence of the posited latent functions. In regard to the first function it was found that 94.6% of the R's had in fact made occup'al choices, & that the time of choice of an occup was related to the time of choice of a major field of study. This latter relationship was moderate for both the M's & F's. The former yielded a coefficient of contingency of .39 & the latter of .56. Members of the Coll community were listed as important in coming to a decision about an occup. The seeking or effect of this aid among the M's was selective with regard to SC & intelligence. Those whose fathers were blue-collar workers &those who fell below the Md intelligence were more likely to mention that the faculty aided them in their choice of an occup. Among the F's there was a nonsignif trend in the same direction for intelligence, but the relation to fathers' occup was curvilinear. The reality checking function was tested by setting up several 'normal' patterns in regard to past achievements & future plans. There were 2 general types of exceptions to the `normal plans found: a group of M's who were predicted to enter occup': on graduation, but who actually planned to go to graduate Sch, &the F's. The M exceptions as a group differed from the other M's in their orientation to upward mobility. As a group they were unusual in that (1) they came from fam's of higher educ'al attainment, (2) more of their fathers were in professional or managerial occup's, & (3) more of them intended to do better than their fathers in terms of SS attainment. The F's as a group were not greatly affected by either the 2nd or 3rd latent function. This is a function of their being rela