The relationship of aptitudes, career choice, gender, and selected family variables to career decisions of college freshmen at Widya Mandira Catholic University in Kupang, Indonesia

• Main Author: Manek, Kristianus
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1989
• Subjects: Students > Psychology; Vocational guidance; Counseling
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/271
• Institution: De La Salle University

This research hypothesizes that the career decisions of Widya Mandira Catholic University (WMCU) freshmen are related to their career choices , aptitude, gender, and family factors such as: sibling position, sibling size, parents' educational attainment, parents' occupation, parents' occupational aspiration for their children, and parent-child relationship. The study also proposes to find out the possible correlation between the gender of the respondents and gender to person who exerted the greater influence on them. The final sample of this research, comprising 186 males and 159 females, are college freshmen enrolled in the five colleges at WMCU. These colleges have 15 departments or courses, which, in this study, are grouped into six areas, namely : Engineering, Teaching and Education, Law, Economics, Politics and Public Administration. The participants were administered the Aptitude Tests for Occupations, Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire, and Supplementary Information Sheet. The Aptitude Tests for occupations were developed by the California Test Bureau, and translated into Bahasa Indonesia by the researcher. The Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire and Supplementary Information Sheet were developed by the researcher. The statistical tools applied in the testing of hypotheses of this study are the chi-square statistics and one-way analysis of variance. Analysis of the data reveals that sex stereotyping is still common among the respondents although the females' choices cover a wide range of occupations including those which are supposedly in the male domain. Both males and females have been found to take up courses which are generally identical to their choices and their parents' occupational aspirations for them. Between the two parents, the father has more strongly influenced the respondents' career decision, although the respondents' choices are significantly different from both their parents' occupation. The educational attainment of the fathers have a stronger influence, relative to that of the mothers', upon the respondents career decision. The sibling position and sibship size, as far as the population of this research is concerned, are slightly related to the respondents' career decision. The recalled parent-child relationship is also related to the respondents' career decision. Analysis of aptitude results reveals significant relationships between aptitude and career decision. With the preceding results, it is suggested that parents should be involved in the career guidance provided by schools to the Indonesian youths. Both male and female students should be assisted in obtaining comprehensive and relevant information that promotes awareness of themselves, their capabilities, potentials and skills. Toward this end, every school should have at least one professional counselor to help not only in the realization of human growth and development but also in sound decision making in the youths' career choices. School officials should formulate educational and career guidance programs geared to the needs of its students and the world of work.