Influence of expectancies of success on the choice of vocational education or scientific-technological baccalaureate

Abstract

The number of students pursuing scientific-technological careers is declining, with significant gender differences. Similarly, at the end of the compulsory stage, an increasing number of students continue their studies in Vocational education rather than the Baccalaureate. The reasons for this trend are not clearly known, but it seems that students’ expectancies and the influence of their teachers and parents may play a role. Thus, this study examines the impact of students’ expectancies of success in science and technology, as well as their perceptions of their parents and teachers’ expectancies of success, on their choice of study type (Vocational education or baccalaureate) and branch (scientific-technological or not). A convenience sample of 276 students was surveyed using a valid and reliable instrument in a quantitative, explanatory design. The findings show that students and their parents’ expectancies of success have a strong influence on the choice of baccalaureate studies in boys, but not in girls. In addition, the choice of scientific-technological studies is influenced by their expectancies of success and those of their parents in boys, and by their expectancies of success and those of their teachers in girls. These findings emphasize the importance of the construct of expectancies of success in the formation of scientific vocations and the academic orientation. For this reason, to increase scientific-technical vocations, it is necessary to implement methodologies and strategies that improve students’ expectancies of success in science and technology, as well as the expectancies that their parents and teachers place on them.