Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Running head: SOCIOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENT & VOCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS
Sociopolitical Development and Vocational Expectations
Among Lower-SES Adolescents of Color
Matthew A. Diemer and Chueh-an Hsieh
Michigan State University
Citation: Diemer, M.A. & Hsieh, C. (2008). Sociopolitical development and vocational
expectations among lower-SES Adolescents of Color. Career Development Quarterly, 56(3),
257-267.
Author’s note. Correspondence regarding this paper should be directed to Matthew A. Diemer,
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, 441 Erickson Hall,
College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1034; (517) 3556684; email: diemerm@msu.edu. Chueh-an Hsieh is a doctoral student in the Measurement &
Quantitative Methods program at Michigan State University. We would like to thank Brady West
of the Center for Statistical Consultation and Research at the University of Michigan for his
methodological suggestions and assistance.
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Abstract
The well-documented “aspiration-expectation gap” refers to lower-SES Adolescents of Color
expecting to attain lower-paying and lower-status occupations than the occupations they aspire
to. Sociopolitical inequity, such as structural racism and asymmetrical access to resources, may
explain this gap. This study examines the capacity to cope with sociopolitical inequity,
sociopolitical development, and its relationship to vocational expectations among this
population. Analyses revealed that sociopolitical development was associated with higher
vocational expectations and may contribute a “piece of the puzzle” to reducing the vocational
aspiration-expectation gap among lower-SES Adolescents of Color. Further, career counseling,
guidance, and psychosocial interventions may be augmented by incorporating sociopolitical
development.
Keywords: Adolescents of Color; Vocational Expectations; Sociopolitical Development; Critical
Consciousness; Poverty
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Sociopolitical Development and Vocational Expectations among Lower-SES
Adolescents of Color
Vocational expectations represent the job or career that an individual believes they will
likely attain in the future (Baly, 1989) and play an important role in organizing adolescents’
behavior toward the career development process (Super, 1980), such as the development of the
occupational self-concept. Additionally, occupational expectations are generally predictive of
adolescents’ occupational attainment as adults (Hotchkiss & Borow, 1996). From an
emancipatory communitarian perspective to career development (Blustein, McWhirter & Perry,
2005), the sociopolitical context of adolescents also influences their occupational expectations.
For example, sociopolitical barriers such as racism (Hellenga, Aber & Rhodes, 2002) and
classism (Hotchkiss & Borow, 1996) have a negative impact upon the occupational expectations
of Adolescents of Color. The impact of sociopolitical barriers is clearly illustrated by the
observed differences between occupational aspirations and expectations among Adolescents of
Color (Constantine, Erickson, Banks & Timberlake, 1998).
Aspirations represent “the statement of a desired career goal given ideal conditions”
while expectations represent “an individual’s consideration of reality factors which may affect
the attainment of aspirations” (Baly, 1989, p. 255). Aspirations are one’s occupational dreams,
while expectations are real-world beliefs of what occupation one will attain. Sociopolitical
inequities in access to resources, in addition to a range of sociopolitical barriers, (Blustein et al.,
2005) may explain this discrepancy between aspirations and expectations, which has been
labeled the aspiration-expectation gap.
Aspiration-Expectation Gap
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Although the occupational aspirations and expectations of White adolescents are similar,
a consistent finding in the literature (Arbona & Novy, 1991; Baly, 1989; Constantine et al., 1998;
Hellenga, Aber & Rhodes, 2002) has been that Adolescents of Color have lower expectations for
what occupation they will attain than the occupation that they aspire to. An aspirationexpectation discrepancy has been observed among low-SES adolescents but not their high-SES
counterparts (Bogie, 1976; Chaves et al., 2004), suggesting that social class may also be
associated with an aspiration-expectation gap.
Structural racism, oppression, labor market discrimination, and inequitable access to
resources facilitative of career development, among other sociopolitical barriers, are theorized to
account for this gap (e.g. Constantine et al., 1998; Hotchkiss & Borow, 1996). For example,
Chaves et al. (2004) observed that labor market discrimination experienced by family members
led urban adolescents to have more negative expectations regarding their occupational future and
the world of work. Similarly, Diemer and Blustein (2006) argued that structural oppression and
limited access to career-related resources may lead urban adolescents to be less invested in their
occupational future. One urban adolescent who participated in the Diemer et al. (in press)
qualitative study of support for challenging racism, sexism, and social injustice gave voice to the
impact of sociopolitical barriers, wondering “Can racism make you put your dreams down?”
These sociopolitical forces may lead lower-SES Adolescents of Color to believe it is unlikely
they will attain the “dream” occupations they aspire to and resultingly expect to attain lowerstatus occupations.
Although the deleterious effects of sociopolitical inequity are well-documented, internal
resources that may assist adolescents in adaptively coping with these external sociopolitical
barriers have received less attention. As the above review and related research (Chaves et al.,
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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2004; Diemer & Blustein, 2006) suggest that the barriers that are associated with lowered
vocational expectations are primarily sociopolitical in nature, we argue that individuals’ capacity
to cope with these sociopolitical barriers, sociopolitical development, may be associated with the
vocational expectations of lower-SES Adolescents of Color.
Sociopolitical Development
Sociopolitical development focuses upon the analysis of and motivation to change
sociopolitical inequity. Recent advances in sociopolitical development theory and research stem
(in part) from Paulo Freire’s (1973; 1993) notion of critical consciousness and liberation
psychology. For example, the Watts, Griffith and Abdul-Adil (1999) five-stage (Acritical,
Adaptive, Precritical, Critical, and Liberation) model describes the process of sociopolitical
development among lower-SES Adolescents of Color. As sociopolitical development increases,
oppressed/marginalized individuals move from being objects of sociopolitical oppression to
subjects who develop the capacity to critically analyze and motivation to change oppressive
aspects of their sociopolitical environment. That is, models of sociopolitical development outline
the process by which lower-SES Adolescents of Color develop a consciousness of sociopolitical
inequity, become motivated to reduce that inequity, and engage in individual or collective action
to produce social change (Watts & Flanagan, in press).
For lower-SES Adolescents of Color, four components of sociopolitical development
suggested by extant models include an awareness of and motivation to change social and
economic inequality (Ginwright & James, 2002), a growing recognition of the connection
between external sociopolitical events/issues and one’s own life (Watts & Flanagan, in press), a
motivation to help others in one’s community (Watts et al., 1999) and the expression of this
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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motivation to reduce sociopolitical inequity through participation in community/social action
groups (Morsillo & Prilleltensky, in press).
Related research has also operationalized sociopolitical development by examining these
four components of sociopolitical development (e.g. Diemer, Hsieh & Pan, 2006). This research
and extant sociopolitical development models (Ginwright & James, 2002; Watts et al., 1999)
guided our attendance to these four components of sociopolitical development among lower-SES
Adolescents of Color in the current study.
Research Question
Theory suggests that sociopolitical development (e.g. Ginwright & James, 2002; Watts et
al., 1999) may play a critical role in recognizing, managing and overcoming structural
oppression and the attainment of desired outcomes. This proposition has received some support
with regard to career development. Sociopolitical development has been associated with career
development among urban African American adolescents (O’Connor, 1997), vocational identity
and commitment to one’s vocational future among urban adolescents (Diemer & Blustein, 2006),
and connection to the career development process and the realization occupational goals among
survivors of domestic abuse (Chronister & McWhirter, in press). However, other studies
observed no (Conchas, 2001) or a negative relationship (Fine, 1991) between sociopolitical
development and career development among lower-SES Adolescents of Color.
As the barriers that may produce the aspiration-expectation gap among lower-SES
Adolescents of Color are primarily sociopolitical, the capacity to overcome these barriers,
sociopolitical development, may assist them in reducing the gap between their dream and
expected occupation. Therefore, the present study examined the role of sociopolitical
development as a predictor of vocational expectations among lower-SES Adolescents of Color.
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Method
Sample
Our data were derived from 12th grade student participants in the National Education
Longitudinal Study (NELS). NELS began in 1988, and concluded in 2000 after four follow-up
waves of data collection. Participants were surveyed regarding extracurricular activities,
academic performance, community participation, and educational and vocational expectations.
Over 25,000 students from over 1,000 schools participated in the survey through a complex
sampling design (Thomas & Heck, 2001). The present study utilized cross-sectional data from
participants in the 12th grade at time of the second follow-up data collection.
The NELS study is nationally representative, and purposively sampled to include an
equal representation of racial/ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic status to match census data.
Among the population of twelfth grade students who participated in NELS, there were slightly
more female (50.6%) than male students (49.4%), and one out of every three students were
racial/ethnic minorities (10.8% identified as Black, 14.0% as Hispanic, 6.7% as AsianAmerican/Pacific Islander, and 1.3% as American Indian). The socioeconomic status (SES) of
participants was assessed via a composite variable encompassing parental income, educational
attainment, and occupation; participants’ SES was divided into four quartiles. Participants were
also surveyed regarding school drop-out; approximately 85.1% of NELS twelfth grade students
had never been dropped out of school.
Given that lower-SES Adolescents of Color will encounter similar patterns of
sociopolitical barriers rooted in structural racism and inequitable access to the opportunity
structure (Diemer & Blustein, 2006; Watts et al., 1999), we purposively sampled the Adolescents
of Color who were members of the lowest socioeconomic quartile in the data set in the present
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study. 1,784 lower-SES 12th grade Adolescents of Color who had never dropped out of school
matched our initial selection criteria. The sample contained slightly more female (920, 51.6%)
than male (864, 48.4%) participants. Using the racial/ethnic terminology of the NELS data
collection instrument, participants self-identified as: “Hispanic” (913, 51.2%), “Black, not
Hispanic” (583, 32.7%), “Asian American/Pacific Islander” (220, 12.3%), and “American
Indian/Alaskan Native” (54, 3.0%). Fourteen participants (.8%) did not self-identify their
racial/ethnic group membership.
NELS utilizes a complex sampling design, which includes stratification, cluster sampling,
unequal selection probability of observations, and oversampling some racial/ethnic groups
(Ingels, Scott, Taylor, Owings & Quinn, 1998). In contrast to simple random sampling, complex
sample designs bias the estimation of standard error, which may produce spurious tests of
statistical significance and biased parameter estimates (Stapleton, 2002). Thomas and Heck
(2001) argue that the use of normalized sampling weights is one analytic strategy that accounts
for complex sampling designs. Normalized weights are particularly useful in analyses of
subpopulations, and in particular, subgroups of subpopulations, such as lower-SES Adolescents
of Color whom have not dropped out of school (Curtin, Ingels, Wu & Heuer, 2002).
Additionally, Stapleton (2002) argues that the use of normalized weights attenuates standard
error bias, particularly when there are more than 20 individuals per cluster (NELS utilized 24
students per school cluster; Curtin et al., 2002). Therefore, a normalized weight variable was
computed and utilized in the present study. This normalized weight and multiple regression
analyses attenuate bias in standard error and are useful tools in analyses of complex sample data
(Curtin et al., 2002).
Sociopolitical Development
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Sociopolitical development represents a consciousness of sociopolitical inequity and the
motivation to reduce that inequity (Watts & Flanagan, in press). This consciousness of and
motivation to reduce sociopolitical inequity can be captured by four components of sociopolitical
development. As noted above, these four components include a consciousness of and motivation
to reduce social and economic inequalities, discussion of social and political issues and events, a
motivation to help others in one’s community, and participation in community or social-action
groups. These four components of sociopolitical development were operationalized using four
variables from the NELS second follow-up survey. These NELS variables were also used to
examine sociopolitical development among lower-SES Adolescents of Color in the Diemer,
Hsieh and Pan (2006) study. First, student participation in community, neighborhood
improvement, or social-action associations/groups was assessed by variable F2S39E (0 = did not
participate; 1 = participated). Of the participants who responded to this question, 373 (73%)
participants had not been participants, while 136 (27%) had participated in community/social
action groups.
Participants were asked to rate the importance of helping others in their community
(F2S40F) and how important it was to correct social and economic inequality (F2S40J) using a
Likert-type scale (1 = not important, 2 = somewhat important, 3 = very important). In the present
study, for F2S40F we obtained a mean score of 2.35, SD = .57 and for F2S40J we obtained a
mean score of 2.12, SD = .68. Finally, F2S99H measured participants’ frequency of discussion
of current social and political events with parents or guardians (1 = never; 2 = sometimes; 3 =
often). In the present study, we obtained a mean of 1.68, SD = .70.
Vocational Expectations
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Students were asked to describe the occupation that they expect to have at age 30
(F2S64B), which yielded a nominal variable. To convert vocational expectations from a nominal
to an ordinal variable, the F2S64B score was mapped onto the Nakao and Treas (1994)
SocoioEconomic Index (SEI) of occupational prestige (e.g. Rojewski & Yang, 1997). This
resulted in an ordinal-level measure of vocational expectations ranging from 28-88, with higher
scores representing higher occupational prestige (M = 62.92, SD = 16.80). Participants also were
asked the level of education needed to attain their expected occupation at age 30, variable F2S65.
For example, the occupational expectation of “college professor” would require an advanced
degree to be attained. This variable yields a 1-10 score, with higher scores representing higher
levels of education required (M = 6.77, SD = 2.41). We created a composite variable, VocExSEI,
by combining the vocational expectation SEI score (F2S64B) with the level of education needed
to attain that expectation (F2S65). These variables were combined because of the theoretical
relationship between vocational expectations and the education needed to attain that expectation
and because of the significant correlation between these two variables in the present study (r =
.49, p < .001). Further, educational requirements were used to operationalize occupational
prestige in the development of the Nakao and Treas SEI index (1994). The new composite
variable, VocExSEI, ranged from 29 to 98 (M = 70.0, SD = 17.97), with higher scores
representing higher vocational expectations. This composite variable served as the outcome
variable in the present study.
Data Analysis
Data analyses were carried out using listwise deletion, as there was no discernable pattern
of missing data. Listwise deletion and the large sample in the present study attenuated potential
bias in parameter estimates (Howell, 2002). Multiple regression analyses were employed to
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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examine the relationship between sociopolitical development and vocational expectations among
lower-SES Adolescents of Color. Statistical assumptions for multiple regression were met, save
skewness in the categorical community/social action participation variable and slight kurtosis in
the vocational expectations variable. As multiple regression analyses are quite robust with regard
to nonnormality, we elected to preserve the vocational expectations variable in its original metric
(categorical variables, such as community/social action participation, cannot be transformed).
Results
A correlation matrix was generated for the predictor variables and the outcome variable (see
Table 1). There was some degree of association between the predictor variables, but no
indication of multicollinearity. The dichotomous community participation predictor variable did
not significantly associate with any of the other predictor variables. However, all of the predictor
variables did have a modest degree of association with the outcome variable.
Insert Table 1 about here
Four predictor variables were entered into the multiple regression model using
simultaneous entry. The overall regression model was statistically significant, F (4,333) = 5.42, p
< .0001, R² = .061, indicating that 6.1% of the vocational expectation variance was accounted for
by sociopolitical development, exceeding the guidelines for a medium effect size of .05 (Cohen,
1988). Reviewing Table 2, two predictors (‘Important to help one’s community’ and ‘Discussed
current events with parents’) achieved statistical significance while a third (‘Participation in
community/social action groups’) approached significance. The fourth predictor, ‘Important to
correct social and economic inequalities’ was not significant.
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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We conducted a post-hoc analysis of the third predictor variable (‘Participation in
community/social action groups’), as it approached significance and was somewhat skewed. That
is, skewness in a categorical variable (here, 27% had participated in community/social action
groups while 73% had not participated in community/social action groups) may adversely affect
significance tests in regression models (Trusty, Thompson & Petrocelli, 2004). A post-hoc t-test
found that community/social action group participators (M = 77.71, SD = 16.93) had
significantly higher vocational expectations than community/social action group nonparticipators (M = 72.64, SD = 17.11), t(380) = -2.29, p < .05. Finally, we would like to
emphasize that these estimates of statistical significance should be interpreted with the standard
error imprecision germane to complex sampling designs, which suppress t-values in assessments
of individual regression coefficients (Ingels et al., 1998).
Insert Table 2 about here
Discussion
Sociopolitical development was associated with higher vocational expectations among a
nationally representative sample of non-dropout lower-SES Adolescents of Color. A
commitment to helping others in one’s community and the discussion of current events with
parents/guardians were associated with vocational expectations; participation in
community/social action groups approached significance. A post-hoc analysis revealed that
community/social action participants had higher vocational expectations than non-participants.
Using the Nakao and Treas (1994) SEI index as a guide, the observed 6.1% increase in
vocational expectations attributed to sociopolitical development would reflect a difference in
expected occupation between “garbage collector” and “bank teller.”
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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As did Diemer and Blustein (2006) and O’Connor (1997), the obtained results suggest
that sociopolitical development may assist lower-SES Adolescents of Color in overcoming
sociopolitical barriers to their career development. As a range of sociopolitical barriers are
theorized to reduce the vocational expectations of lower-SES Adolescents of Color (e.g.
Constantine, et al., 1998), sociopolitical development may assist these youth in overcoming
sociopolitical barriers to their career development and holding higher vocational expectations.
Although aspirations were not directly examined in the present study, these results suggest that
sociopolitical development may contribute a small “piece of the puzzle” to reducing the
aspiration-expectation gap among lower-SES Adolescents of Color.
The present study stands in contrast to some previous scholarship, which suggested that
sociopolitical development has no relationship (Conchas, 2001) or a negative relationship (Fine,
1991) with progress in career development among lower-SES Adolescents of Color. Although
these two studies did not directly examine vocational expectations, future research will continue
to clarify the relationships between sociopolitical development and aspects of career
development, such as vocational expectations, among lower-SES Adolescents of Color.
In a related vein, the variable ‘working to correct social and economic inequalities’ did
not achieve statistical significance in the present study. A consciousness of and motivation to
reduce social and economic inequalities is an important component of sociopolitical
development, according to extant models (Ginwright & James, 2002; Watts et al., 1999). Despite
this, a commitment to reducing inequality may not be facilitative of vocational expectations
among lower-SES Adolescents of Color. A more nuanced analysis may suggest that a
commitment to reducing social and economic inequality may not be associated with the expected
attainment of higher-paying and more prestigious occupations. That is, persons who strive to
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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reduce inequality may not expect to attain higher-status occupations that are perceived to
enhance or exaggerate social and economic inequality. The lack of association between the
commitment to reducing inequality and vocational expectations should be examined in future
research.
Practice Implications
Sociopolitical development has been associated with progress in career development in
previous research (Diemer & Blustein, 2006; O’Connor, 1997) and associated with greater
vocational expectations in the present study. Similarly, the emancipatory communitarian
perspective articulated by Blustein et al. (2005) recommends that career interventions with
oppressed/marginalized individuals should also foster clients’ sociopolitical consciousness and
motivation to produce social change. This suggests that more traditional vocational counseling
and comprehensive guidance interventions could be augmented by facilitating the sociopolitical
development of lower-SES Adolescents of Color. Career counseling and interventions could
facilitate coping with sociopolitical barriers that constrain vocational expectations, in addition to
traditional emphases upon providing world of work information, clarifying one’s vocational
identity, or improving career decision-making skills. For example, enhancing lower-SES
Adolescents’ of Color awareness of current social/political events, their motivation to help others
in their community, and participation in community/social action groups are components of
exemplary sociopolitical development interventions (e.g. Morsillo & Prilleltensky, in press;
Watts et al., 1999) that could be incorporated into career counseling and comprehensive
guidance interventions. Further, given the role parental support plays in the process of
sociopolitical development (Diemer et al., in press), career counseling and interventions could
encourage the discussion of current social/political events with parents. In sum, sociopolitical
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
15
development may be an underutilized resource in career counseling and comprehensive guidance
interventions that is particularly relevant to the lives of lower-SES Adolescents of Color.
Limitations and Future Directions
The NELS dataset is a socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse sample, with a
large sample size and the capacity to generalize to national representativeness (Ingels et al.,
1998). However, one potential limitation is the more limited number of sociopolitical
development and/or vocational expectations variables contained in NELS. Similarly, variables
assessing vocational aspirations (in contrast to vocational expectations) are not contained in the
NELS dataset, which precludes direct comparisons between participants’ vocational expectations
and aspirations. Future research could revisit the relationships between these constructs and
utilize a wider array of sociopolitical development and vocational expectations variables.
Further, longitudinal research could examine the relationships between sociopolitical
development and vocational expectations over time, as well as speak to the relationships between
sociopolitical development and the attainment of vocational expectations in adulthood.
The self-report nature of our data may introduce issues of social desirability and response
bias. For example, social desirability may have influenced participants’ reporting of
community/social action participation or their commitment to help others in their community,
although this overreporting cannot be directly examined and may have been attenuated in a
large-scale and anonymous survey. Future research could compare participants’ self-report
regarding aspects of sociopolitical development and vocational expectations with the reports of
external observers, such as parents or teachers.
The skewed frequency in the categorical community/social action participation variable
(27% participators vs. 73% non-participators) also attenuated estimates of effect size and the
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
16
contribution of this variable to the regression model (Trusty et al., 2004). This skewness is
expected, given that Morsillo and Prilleltensky (in press) also observed limited sociopolitical
participation of school-aged youth in community/social action groups. As post-hoc analyses
revealed significant differences in vocational expectations between community/social action
group participators and non-participators, future research should continue to examine this
variable. Relatedly, parental involvement may confound the “discussing current social/political
events with parents” variable. As parental involvement would theoretically be related to higher
vocational expectations, the variable operationalizing the discussion and analysis of social and
political events with parents/guardians may be “tapping into” parental involvement as well.
Peering into the sociopolitical worlds of a nationally representative sample of lower-SES
Adolescents of Color, we observed that sociopolitical development was related to greater
vocational expectations. The obtained medium effect size suggests that sociopolitical
development may assist in ‘closing the gap’ between aspirations and expectations among lowerSES Adolescents of Color. Future research should work to identify other factors that also close
the aspiration-expectation gap. Future research should continue to identify resources that assist
members of oppressed groups overcome sociopolitical barriers and more fully self-determine the
course of their work lives.
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
17
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Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Table 1
Correlations between Indices of Sociopolitical Development and Vocational Expectation
Important to
Community/
Important
Discuss
Vocational
current events
expectation
with parents
SEI
correct
social action
to help
economic
participation community
inequality
Community/social action
-
.05
.08
.05
.13(**)
-
.37(**)
.11(**)
.10(**)
-
.11(**)
.14(**)
-
.11(**)
participation
Important to help
community
Important to correct
economic inequality
Discuss current events
with parents
Vocational expectation
SEI
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01.
Sociopolitical Development & Vocational Expectations
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Table 2
Summary of Multiple Regression Model for Predicting Vocational Expectations
Unstandardized
Predictor variable
Standardized
SE B
Coefficient (B)
t-value
p-value
Coefficient (β)
Important correct economic inequality
-1.57
1.44
-.065
-1.09
.276
Community/social action participation
3.87
2.24
.092
1.73
.085
Important help community
5.87
1.85
.190
3.18
.002
Discuss current events with parents
3.16
1.30
.131
2.43
.016