Parental and school factors on American high school students’ academic and career intentions in STEM fields

Abstract

This study examined the significance of parental and school factors on academic and career intentions in STEM fields, using Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) among 301 American high school students. The Parent Career Behavior Checklist, Delaware School Climate Scale, and a STEM career questionnaire created for this study were administered. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that parental (i.e., father's education) and school (i.e., math class satisfaction, fairness) factors explained significant variance in students' academic/career intentions in math and science, demonstrating the importance of contextual factors, which are included in the SCCT model but often excluded in STEM-oriented SCCT research.