Where do we go from here? The aspirations and expectations of the graduating class in a rural island high school: Science curriculum, information technologies, parental, community, and other factors of influence

This research was carried out to gain an understanding of the educational and career aspirations and expectations of students in the graduating class from a rural school on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A number of variables, affecting aspirations and expectations, were examined. These included: the number and type of science courses taken; the marks in these courses; the use of the internet and other information technologies to gain career information; parental occupation and level of education; student use of teachers and guidance counsellors as career resources; and the role of family in aiding students.;To measure the aspirational level of aspired-to careers, as well as expected careers, two scales were used. The General Educational Development Scale (GED) and the Specific Vocational Preparation Scale (SVP) are both subscales of the Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO). For career aspirations, relatively high levels of aspiration were found for both GED and SVP values. These values were lower for career expectations. Positive Spearman's rho correlations were found between GED and SVP levels for career aspirations and career expectations.;Significant Spearman's rho correlations were found between the GED and SVP levels for career aspirations and expectations, attainment in certain science courses, as well as attainment in academic science courses. A negative correlation was found for nonacademic courses.;Findings indicated that there were no other factors that had statistically significant correlations with levels of career aspirations and expectations. However, a number of other trends were found in the data.;Recommendations based on these findings include ways by which rural students may be exposed to various non-local career options. They also include suggestions for improved guidance services in student career planning.