Educational Expectations, Parental Social Class, Gender, and Postsecondary Attainment

Abstract

The authors employ a unique longitudinal data set of British Columbia high school graduates that followed respondents 1, 5, and 10 years after graduation to examine the extent to which educational expectations change over time in relation to parental socioeconomic status and eventual postsecondary attainment. Using the method of correspondence analysis, they demonstrate that graduates leave high school with educational expectations that change minimally from that point onward. Moreover, their findings reveal that there is a strong correspondence among gender, socioeconomic background of parents, and educational attainment. They conclude with direct implications for K-12 and postsecondary policy and practice.