The Structure and Formative Factors of High School Students' Occupational Values : Relationships with Occupational Role Models

Abstract

This article discusses the structure and formative factors of high school students' occupational values, focusing on their relationships with the occupational role models they have, based on a questionnaire survey for 2,191 students from twenty high schools in six prefectures. The result of this survey is as follows. Occupational values are composed of 5 orientations: self-actualization; social contribution; promotion; living; and social mission and roles. High school students are oriented more to living and self-actualization than to the other orientations. Also, there are differences in the extents of the orientations between the genders and ones among the courses taught at school. Moreover, this survey shows the relationships between each of the students' occupational values and his/her view of society and life, the path that he/she hopes to take after graduation, and whether or not he/she has given the name of the occupation he/she hopes to pursue in the future. Especially, about the relationships with the occupational role models they have, it was found that positive role models facilitate the formation of their occupational values, whereas negative role models prevent that. They tend to regard people close to them such as their fathers and teachers, and well-known people in the mass media, as such models. The students who don't have role models also tend to have negative occupational values. These findings suggest that we need to investigate in more detail the relationships among the factors in the formation of occupational values.