Browsing by Author "Wirén, Greta"

The future weighs heavily on many youths when it comes to choosing education and career paths. It’s becoming increasingly common for youths to take a gap year to contemplate their future educational opportunities. Parents wield significant influence over their children’s choice of education. Youths whose parents hold highly educated professions tend to gravitate towards academic pursuits. However, parental professions aren’t the sole influencers; their involvement and encouragement also play pivotal roles. The aim of this thesis is to explore the significance of parents’ occupations and leisure interests in youths’ thoughts and plans for the future. The research questions addressed in this thesis are: 1. How do parents’ professions and values manifest in youths’ thoughts regarding education and career choices? 2. What significance do hobbies and leisure interests hold in youths’ considerations of education and career paths? 3. What kind of changes regarding research questions 1 and 2 can be observed between grades 7 and 8? This thesis employs a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews as the method of data collection. Five youths participated in the interviews, which were subjected to content analysis. The results suggest that youths contemplate their future extensively already in grades 7 and 8, with the majority having a career plan in mind. It’s evident that youths tend to consider professions aligned with their parents’ educational backgrounds. For most youths, the idea of turning their hobbies into careers isn’t particularly common, except for two respondents. Economic considerations are a significant part of youths’ thoughts, with varying opinions on the importance of money. They focus on highpaying professions, the cost of quality education, and opportunities to earn money in the short term. Despite having post-middle school plans, they exhibit varying attitudes towards school.