Aspirations, possibilities and limitations–Indian middleclass students' view on future career and related values

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate how middle class, secondary school students in Bangalore view their future in the background context of individualist and collectivist influences, traditionally related to Western respectively Eastern culture. The objectives are as follows:How do secondary school students view their future in terms of further studies and work opportunities and what possibilities and/or limitations do they identify? What in relation to this are some of the underlying, deciding factors?What values do secondary school students take into account while considering a future career? To what extent can these values be related to the general distinctions between collectivism and individualism, traditionally related to Eastern and Western culture?Theoretical terms used in the thesis are the sociological concepts of individualism and collectivism and Krumboltz’s social learning theory, a constructivist career theory. This is a qualitative study, interviews were used to examine eight students’ views about their future as well as values related to this.The main conclusions of the study are that the students in general are very positive about their future, they believe in themselves and their abilities and rate the likeliness of reaching their goals as high. All of them want to move on to further studies, studying and working abroad is also something that is appealing to many of them. One of the possible limitations is lack of money. Deciding factors include own interests and abilities, family’s opinions, social class and external factors like labor market. Values concerning family, education and work are for the most part collectivist but some strong individualist features can also be seen, such as choosing a vocation based on your interest.