The purpose of the research was to investigate the influence of culture and motivation on the vocational decision-making processes of senior high school students, as they prepare for a transition, at the completion of their studies, to a career or occupation. The research draws upon existing literature in the fields of: (i) motivation, particularly the expectancy-value theory of motivation (e.g., Wigfield and Eccles, 2002), (ii) culture (e.g., Hofstede, 2001; Triandis, 1995), (iii) vocational/career decision-making (e.g., Brown, 2002) and (iv) social behaviour (the theory of reasoned action (e.g., Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980)). The theoretical framework that was developed to guide the study investigated the influence of motivational variables (expectancy for success, personal interest, recognition from others and financial success) and cultural variables (individualism/ collectivism and long term orientation/future time perspective) on the vocational decision-making of senior high school students. More specifically, it proposed that: (i) expectancy for success; (ii) personal interest; (iii) recognition from others; (iv) financial success; (v) individualism/collectivism; and (iv) long term orientation/future time perspective influence the: (i) personal attitudes; and (ii) social influences of senior high school students with respect to their choice of future occupation, which in turn, influence the occupational intentions of senior high school students. Broadly, the theoretical framework acknowledges the rational and non-rational (including socially-influenced) perspectives in decision making. Some elements of existing vocational decision-making theories were also incorporated in the theoretical framework (e.g., the need for a “fit” between interest and occupation in Holland’s (1966) theory of vocational choice, “expectancies for success” in Lent, Brown & Hackett’s (1994) social cognitive career theory, as well as “social influence” from the various social learning theories of career choice). Nevertheless, the study represents a substantial departure from existing thinking on vocational decision-making. The major hypotheses of the study were: (i) The stronger the collectivist cultural orientations of high school students, the greater will be the family influence in vocational decision-making (as students with strong collectivist cultural orientations are likely to be concerned about what others think about their decision); (ii) The stronger the individualist cultural orientations of high school students, the greater will be the weight placed on personal attitudes/preferences in vocational decision-making (as students with strong individualist cultural orientations are unlikely to be concerned about what others think about their decision); (iii) The stronger the collectivist cultural orientations of high school students, the more value will be placed on the status achievable in an occupation (as students with strong collectivist cultural orientations are more likely to be concerned about being recognised by others); (iv) The stronger the long term orientations of high school students, the more value will be placed on the income achievable from an occupation (as students with strong long term orientations are more likely to be concerned about addressing future events such as the raising of a family); and (v) The stronger the long term orientations of high school students, the higher will be the expectancies for success in an occupation (as students with strong long term orientations are more likely to display characteristics such as hard work and perseverance). The research is significant, as it will allow vocational educators to gain an understanding of how high school students make decisions about their future careers and occupations, using an approach that differs in many ways from those used previously. In particular, acknowledgement is made in this study of the influence of culture, which has often been neglected in studies of vocational decision-making of senior high school students, and is becoming increasingly relevant to modern, multicultural, societies throughout the developed world. The research clearly is relevant for contemporary European and international contexts.

A questionnaire, which was developed to measure the major variables of interest to the study (i.e. individualism, long term orientation, expectancy for success, interest, financial success etc.), was administered to students in Grade 11, who were attending independent schools in the Sydney metropolitan area (in Australia). To administer the questionnaire, a stratified random sample of independent schools in the Sydney metropolitan area was selected. The researchers asked all Grade 11 students at the selected schools to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire items were composed of: (i) items used in existing questionnaires on the topics of interest, (ii) items that were modified from the items used in the existing questionnaires, and (iii) newly developed items. Some instruments that were consulted for this purpose were: Triandis and Gelfand (1998), Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk and Gelfand (1995), Robertson and Hoffman (2000), Shell and Husman (2001), Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), Wigfield and Eccles (2000) and Hartman and Hartman (1982). All questionnaire items were discussed at length with subject matter experts for appropriateness, prior to their inclusion. Factor analytic and regression techniques were performed on the data collected from research participants.

The major conclusions, expected outcomes and findings of the study are as follows: 1. The introduction of a new, empirically supportable model, that takes account of the influence of culture and motivation, on the vocational decision-making processes of senior high school students, is the major outcome of this study. It is expected that the new model will stimulate dialogue and further research on the vocational decision-making processes of senior high school students in European and international settings. 2. As this study incorporates cultural constructs as variables, it attempts to provide new insights on the vocational decisions of senior high school students in the many modern societies that are becoming increasingly multicultural. 3. The findings of the research may be used by educators to guide students in the possible “individual pathways” associated with making the highly critical vocational/occupational decision. More broadly, employers, institutions of tertiary education and vocational training bodies may be able to gain valuable insights on their employees/students/trainees, and gain useful marketing information for attracting possible candidates.