Influence of Parents on Career Choice

Career choice is an imperative constituent in one’s life to set his/her aspiration to achieve their career. Primarily during the transitional stage children are forced to choose a particular career or course of study. During this stage predicament is inevitable due to various aspects such as family members influence, peer group influence, role model influence, parental influence etc. The most frequent reason is parental influence. Explicitly, parents play a most important role in selection of career of any child. In most of the culture, interpersonal influence, role model influence and momentous other’s influence are also such factors evident in choice of their career or vocation.

Parents are more intensively involved in their child’s learning more advantageous are the achievement effects. Regardless of the potentials, actual needs and ego of the child, education, economic incentives, peer group influence and parental influence are occasionally used as pressures to induce the children into predestined careers. Even though, students also have a propensity to approach parents, family members, and experienced persons and peer group members to make clear decision and avoid confusion in this regard. On the other hand, characteristics of an individual, socially habituated through family influence, social position and relations, and developed social role characteristics also conscientious for career choice decision making.

Whiston recommended to students, distinguish parental expectations had a stronger influence than socio-economic condition, but the influence was indirect through the variables of student’s occupational prospects, which in turn influenced career choice. Endicott point out that student perception of parental expectations is an important factor in career choice as a parental influence. Preliminary researches emphasized that adolescents articulated most frequently about career issues with their parents and reported parents are their foremost dominant numbers during educational and career transitions. Parental pressure put forth a lot of influence on the educational acquisition of the child specially the socio-economic status of parents. Academic efficiency is positively associated with parents who impose rules at home. Parents play a noteworthy role in laying the base of their children’s career.

Many theories signify that, family plays a role in determining the values and needs of its members. Social learning theory highlights possible pressures that the family can have on adolescent’s career selection. Parents can have an influence on their child’s career selection by positively developing or punishing certain behaviors that can encourage or discourage certain interests or abilities. Some individuals also reported that their parents controlled their career actions and choices too much. Some of these parents deliberately applied or impose their personal ideas about their children’s career regardless of their wishes. Children in such families were found to be more unreceptive in the process of career selection. Besides, some adolescents reported that their parents never involved in the career selection process. Such parental behaviors were noted to cause diminution in child’s progress in career development, consequential in less stable career paths. 

Works Cited

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