THE DEVELOPMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS AMONG INNER-CITY BOYS

The occupational aspirations and expectations of two populations of bo ys in grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 were examined in order (1) to describe wha t is unique about the development of job preferences among urban ghett o children who live in settings where many adult males are not well at tached to the labor force and (2) to examine 6 reasons for any age- an d population-dependent patterns there might be in job aspirations and job expectations. Findings show that boys tend to be more realistic ab out occupational aspirations and expectations the older they are; that from second grade on the occupational expectations of inner-city boys mirror existing race and class differences in adult job holdings; tha t the gap between occupational aspirations and expectations is greater for the ghetto boys and remains roughly constant in size across the g rades examined; and that the lower occupational expectations of the in ner-city boys are strongly related to their lower educational expectat ions, with these educational expectations being associated with fewer poor boys having a biological father at home and with more of these bo ys seeing obstacles to success in the local social setting. But, the l ower occupational expectations of the ghetto boys are not due to havin g fewer positive role models or believing that schooling will not pay off for them in the future as it does for others.