Métodos de control de B tabaci en cultivos hortícolas

Aspiration has been shown to be an indicator of future career for young people, research in England showed that around half of those who do have clear aspirations (four-fifths of whom were able to express an occupation they aspired to) as 15 year olds do tend to achieve broadly similar aspirations 10-15 years later (Croll, 2008). This research further goes on to note that of those stating careers which required a university education or skilled non-manual careers, the majority were planning to stay in education at the end of their compulsory schooling, although not all ultimately did. A report from Universities UK (2007, in Department for Children, Schools and

Families, 2009) identifies that while 56% of children whose parents have a

professional career aspire to the same, only 13% of those with parents in semi-skilled occupations have such aspirations.

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Having examined the aspirations of young teenagers 12-13 and explored how they came to such ambitions Archer et al (2014) illustrate that the young people in their sample were from an ‘ambitious generation’ (p76) however despite their high

aspirations their confidence in achieving these ambitions appeared less self-assured. Most popular career aspirations for year six to eight in their study were in the arts, sports, medicine and teaching. These aspirations were generally influenced by, family members or family friends already in that occupation, hobbies and out of school activities, school and television.

Archer et al (2014) also found that there were associations between source of influence and aspirations so that those aspiring to careers in sport and the arts were in the main linked to hobbies and other activities children were undertaking outside of school. Middle-class children were more likely to discuss family influence when

interested in professional careers such as teaching and medicine. By contrast working-class children were unlikely to discuss influence of family or hobbies but would focus on TV (especially in relation to aspirations to teach), the influence of other adults they may have contact with and also money.

They suggest that there is an uneven distribution of aspiration resulting from the different influences children from different backgrounds experience, with those from disadvantaged backgrounds having less opportunity to have positive influences. This is important for careers education, which can be targeted at these children to attempt to even out the balance of influence to support career aspirations. This would appear not to be happening at present as their study also found that those sampled between the ages of 10 and 13 rarely mentioned careers advice as a factor.

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Baird et al (2012) noted a difference in the type of career aspirations cited, with FEC responders more likely to cite the skilled and semi-skilled manual jobs as their aspiration than responders from sixth-form settings. While both groups cited professional careers more often than other employment , those from sixth-form settings cited this aspiration more often than those from FECs. They also found students, despite having high career aspirations, were often vague about their career aspirations. Instead of citing a specific career or employment setting they discussed ‘getting a good job’ or ‘doing well in a career’. They link this to the work of Macrae et al (1997), suggesting these students appreciate the importance of education but are unable to articulate its role in their future employment. Shaw (2012) also found the students in her study, although able to articulate future career ambitions then, had no clear ambitions at the time of enrolling on the programme.

While Connor and Dewson (2001) were encouraged that participants in their study perceived an HE qualification would present better job and career opportunities as well as a better income and employment security; they also noted that upon

considering entry to HE only a few had aspired to a specific job or career pathway. In contrast to other studies, the students in the ESRC study conducted by Reay et al (2009) all had aspirations for professional careers and an understanding that this required academic achievement from early in their compulsory education. Although they appear no different to that of students in other studies, they are described as ideal learners having ‘developed almost superhuman levels of motivation, resilience and determination’ (p1115).

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2.5.3 Implications

While high aspirations would seem a positive thing some researchers raise concerns that, for those from disadvantaged backgrounds who are unable to fulfil their

aspirations as a result of poor academic results there could be negative outcomes (Croll, 2008; Yates et al, 2011). Goodlad and Thompson (2007) go as far as to suggest that the marketing to WP students of some of the opportunities, rather than offering a freedom of choice in fact restricts those choices leading to improbable rather than the imagined futures described by Ball et al (2000).

This disparity is reported in the literature in terms of a more pragmatic approach linked to ability and a realisation, as young people mature, of the barriers that they may face and the need to compromise their earlier aspirations (Gottfredson, 2002; Strand and Winston, 2008). Boxer et al (2011) suggest that the discrepancy between aspiration and expectation needs addressing and that it is important to focus on supporting students in raising expectations to meet aspiration rather than suggesting a lowering of aspiration.

Ball et al (1999, 2000) discuss ‘imagined futures’ and what is illuminating about the narratives they include is the difference between the working-class and middle-class students in terms of their imagined futures. Not suprisingly the middle-class students with their social networks and lifestyle opportunities have no difficulty in having positive aspirations about their future. The working-class narratives however tell a different story of struggle with day-to-day issues, of finance and family responsibilities not giving them the space to imagine a future beyond taking care of these needs first. As a result they describe three groups, the first have a clear journey mapped out towards their imagined future by their own interests and family expectation. The

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second have a focus on the future but with some uncerainty and lack the family experience to guide them. The final group do not have an imagined future beyond the short-term or even the present and lack a learner identity.

While there is extensive literature in the area of aspirations and expectations looking at the different social and cultural capital young people have there is an absence of literature examining any differences there may be between students from WP backgrounds who undertake their HE in FECs and HEIs. Identifying if there are any differences may be helpful in ensuring all WP students have the opportunity to fulfil their true potential. This supports the needs to further investigate aspirations from the student perspective and this has been identified in the research question: to what extent do widening participation students’ aspirations differ between those

undertaking their higher education in a university and those undertaking their higher education in a further education college?

Aspiration will be explored using the concept of imagined futures, using students’ own descriptions of their career and educational aspirations and aligning these with the groupings described by Ball et al (1999, 2000).