Preludes to Attainment: Race, Sex, and Student Achievement Orientations*

摘要: This paper investigates race-sex differences in achievement orientation using a national sample of high school seniors. Achievement is approximated by attitudinal measures (educational expectations, occupational aspirations, academic selfconcept, self-esteem, and locus-of-control) known to be correlated with expected actual attainments. Three major sets student background factors are related orientation: (1) family SES, (2) context, (3) parental expectations. Race-sex comparisons revealed several interesting, but few definitive differences. Occupational aspirations were dimension consistent differentiation: whites males aspired higher status, less stereotypic occupations than did blacks females. Pronounced interpersonal effects implied throughout, educational attainments, peer plans, teacher evaluations (grades) parent strongly influencing orientations all subgroups. The calls for intensive, longitudinal studies interactions parents, friends, teachers, other individuals who influence their Modern "status attainment" research theory have evolved along generally systematic lines. In the prototype this genre study, Blau Duncan (1967) attempted determine how ascribed early achieved statuses subsequent achievements within cross-sectional 1962 U.S. white adult male population. From analyses they concluded that late attainment was primarily conditioned prior education, turn registering sizable direct effect upon later Parental characteristics (ascribed statuses) influenced attainments only indirectly through attainment. Believing "Blau-Duncan" model not explicit elaborating status process, group researchers systematically extend model. Their goal specify further mechanisms which translated into Using data on seniors, introduced social psychological variables as indirect interactional processes intervening between structural facts son's Later, mental ability, significant influences, performance, levels occupational-educational added original (Sewell, Haller, Strauss, 1957; Sewell Shah, 1967; Sewell, Ohlendorf, 1970; Haller Portes, 1973). These extensions largely