A COMPARISON OF OCCUPATIONAL GOAL ORIENTATIONS OF FEMALE MEXICAN-AMERICAN AND ANGLO HIGH-SCHOOL SENIORS OF THE CLASSES OF 1972 AND 1980.

The purposes of this study were to identify and analyze stated occupational goal orientations of female Mexican-American and Anglo high-school seniors of the classes of 1972 and 1980. Data utilized in this study were obtained from The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and High School and Beyond: A National Longitudinal Study for the 1980s. Data from both surveys were weighted appropriately to adjust for the oversampling of minority students. The weighted data for the NLS (1972) Anglo group produced a sample size of 992,139, while the concomitant Mexican-American group was 22,482. The weighted data for the HSB (1980) Anglo group consisted of a sample of 1,032,953, and the corresponding Mexican-American group was comprised of a sample of 20,579. Stated occupational goals were clustered to form four types of occupations, professional, clerical, non-traditional, and homemaker. Seven research questions were formulated to explore possible associations of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, scholastic aptitude, and survey year with types of occupational goal orientations. Statistical procedures utilized in this study included frequency counts, percentages, odds ratios, log-linear analyses, and confidence intervals. Stated occupational goal orientations were statistically related to students' ethnicity, aptitude level, socioeconomic status, and year of graduation from high school. Recommendations for further research include examination of educational aspirations and educational completion rates. Stated aspirations should be compared with actual vocational achievement. Barriers to educational and vocational achievement warrant investigation, especially for the Mexican-American female. Formulation of contemporary models of vocational choice for women requires a thorough consideration of the effects of ethnicity, aptitude, SES, and other major life roles, such as marriage and parenthood, upon labor force participation