Adolescence is a period in which students can make decisions about their career paths that may have a long-term impact on their futures (Mann et al, 2020). Students’ expectations of their intended career can have an influence on both the subjects’ they choose to study, and how they view their progression in education (Givord et al, 2020).  Parental influences have long been acknowledged as being instrumental in shaping adolescents’ view of themselves, and what they wish to do for a future career (Oliveira et al, 2020). Therefore, examining the impact of parental factors is of key importance for informing career development programmes within education systems. International large-scale assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study, enable researchers to examine both the career expectations of students in Ireland, and the potential effects that parental factors on these expectations at a national level. This is of particular importance considering the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were not only exposed to remote/at home learning (with their parent’s support) for a large duration of their schooling, but they were also able to see the strains that the pandemic had on several career sectors e.g. in the health sector and in education.  

Due to the cyclical nature of the PISA assessments, which are administered every three years (2015, 2018 and 2022), the most recent cycles provide a key opportunity to examine how the career expectations of 15- and 16-year-olds in Ireland have changed in recent years. This research will also examine if students intended career level matches that of their parents or potentially exceeds it, and whether parents own education, and occupations, have any effect on how pupils envision their own careers. Finally, the analysis will examine the level of support provided at home by parents, by career choice, and note if the level of support differs by students’ career choice.

This analysis uses data from three cycles of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study. The study assesses the skills and knowledge of 15- and 16-year-olds in three areas, reading literacy, science, and mathematics (OECD, 2016; OECD 2019; OECD, 2023). Each cycle contains a representative sample of students for the year the study was conducted, with 5,741 students taking part in 2015, 5,577 students in 2018, and 5,569 students in 2022. Context questionnaires were completed by participating students and their parents/guardians which focused on demographic and attitudinal questions. As part of the student questionnaire, students were asked what occupation they expected to have by the time they were 30 years old. Their answers were classified and coded according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO). Students career codes were then mapped onto the international socio-economic index of occupational status (ISEI) to create the ‘Students Expected Occupational Status’ index for each PISA cycle. Higher scores on this index indicated higher levels of students expected occupational status. The ISCO career codes were also categorised in to 10 major career groups. In Ireland the most popular major career group was identified as Professionals, which was the case for all three cycles, and was selected for further investigation. The Professionals group was categorised further into subgroups which were used in the analysis, and consisted of: Science & Engineering, Health, Teaching, Business & Administration, ICT, and Legal, Social & Cultural Professionals. Both the Students Expected Occupational Status index and all six careers within the Professionals group were used as the student career variables. These career variables were examined in relation to parental variables’ such as the parents’ occupational status, the highest education level of parents’, current parental support for learning in the home, and the economic, social and cultural status index (ESCS). Firstly, the analysis consisted of comparing the six professional careers across cycles to highlight any changes, while mean scores of the Students Expected Occupational Status index were also compared. Secondly, correlational relationships between the Students Expected Occupational Status index and parental indices (parents’ highest level of education, highest occupational status, and current parental support, ESCS) were compiled and compared across cycles. Finally, a logistic regression analysis was administered for each of the six professional career variables and parental factors for each cycle to compare the impact on career choice.

From initial findings there appears to be a shift in regards the intended careers of 15- and 16-year-olds in Ireland, from before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. For career expectations of students in Ireland overall, there was found to be a steady increase in pupils who intended to be a Science and Engineering professional, with an increase of 5% from 2015 to 2022. Although there was a significant increase in students expecting to be a Health professional from 2015 to 2018 (+4%), this has decreased by 2% in 2022, as has the percentage of students intending to have a career as a Teaching professional. In fact, there has been a consistent decline in the percentage of students expecting to be a teaching professional across all three cycles of PISA, with an overall 8% decrease from 2015 to 2022. Parents occupational status continued to have a significant positive relationship the students intended career; however, the strength of this relationship was found to decrease slightly across cycles. Overall, there was a consistent change in some professional careers post pandemic. There was also a slight decline the relationship between parental factors and students expected occupational status. Such relationships will be examined further with the completion of the regression analysis phase of the paper.

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