The association between perceived discrimination profiles and career aspirations and expectations of high schools students. - Chaire-réseau de recherche sur la jeunesse du Québec

Notice bibliographique

Dorceus, S. (2024). The association between perceived discrimination profiles and career aspirations and expectations of high schools students. Educational and new developments 2024:Volume 1, Portugal, 51-55.

Résumé

Career development literature suggests that perceived discrimination may influence the career choices of individuals from diverse backgrounds (e.g., racial minorities) (Swanson & Fouad, 2020). More specifically, perceptions of both overt and covert discrimination could lead to the elimination of career options (Poon, 2014; Schneider & Dimito, 2010), limiting perceptions regarding career opportunities (Conkel-Ziebell et al., 2019) and attenuated career expectations (Abrahamsen & Drange, 2015). However, perceptions of discrimination are rarely systematically measured in these studies and their association with individuals from diverse backgrounds’ career choices seems to be overlooked. Therefore, the study aims to 1) identify profiles of perceptions of discrimination and 2) examine how profile membership relates to key sociodemographic characteristics as well as limiting perceptions regarding career plans, educational aspirations and expectations. Thus, a sample of 756 Canadian high school students (M = 16.3 years old; SD = 0.9) completed an online survey from May 2022 to February 2023. Among them, 52% identified as female, 46% identified as male and 2% identified differently. It is also important to note that the sample is made up of a majority of racialized students (72%) and over a third of immigrant students (38%). Latent profile analyses revealed three distinct perceived discrimination profiles, across which proportions of females, racial minorities and Indigenous people, as well as mean levels of limiting perceptions regarding career plans varied. The conclusion highlights appropriate courses of action to counter the potential adverse effects of perceived discrimination on career aspirations and expectations.