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Parental Influence on Child Career Development in Mainland China: A Qualitative Study
Author(s) -
Liu Jianwei,
McMahon Mary,
Watson Mark
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the career development quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.846
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 2161-0045
pISSN - 0889-4019
DOI - 10.1002/j.2161-0045.2015.00096.x
Subject(s) - curiosity , career development , superordinate goals , mainland china , psychology , china , developmental psychology , interpretative phenomenological analysis , qualitative research , erikson's stages of psychosocial development , mainland , social psychology , sociology , political science , social science , geography , law , archaeology
Compared with adolescents and adults, there is little research that examines child career development and especially how parents might influence such development. This is especially true in Mainland China, where family life is highly valued. This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine how Mainland Chinese parents influence the career development of their 5th‐grade children. Six superordinate themes were identified from both the children's and the parents' perspectives: responding to career curiosity, influence on career gender stereotypes, emphasizing the importance of education, encouraging independent career decision making, providing opportunities for career interest development, and mothers as career role models. Suggestions are offered for future career development learning programs and research.