Email this article 
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
Career Orientation of Vocational Students: The Role of Socioeconomic Status
Abstract
Vocational (SMK) students must decide their career orientation earlier than their peers in general schooling, yet socioeconomic conditions may constrain the resources, guidance, and role models that inform such decisions. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription and compromise, this study tested whether socioeconomic status (SES) predicts career orientation among 124 students at a vocational school, and further explored parental background as a possible role-model mechanism underlying this relationship. Using an explanatory quantitative design, data were collected with a validated five point Likert questionnaire (9 SES items, α = .89; 16 career orientation items, α = .94) and analysed using descriptive statistics, simple linear regression, one way ANOVA, and correlation analysis. SES significantly and positively predicted career orientation (β = .526; B = 0.862; t = 6.83; p < .001), explaining 27.7% of its variance (R² = .277; f² = .38, a large effect). Career orientation increased monotonically across SES terciles (53.9, 60.0, 68.0; F(2,121) = 20.95, p < .001, η² = .257). Students’ career plans also mirrored their parent’s occupations: 80% of those whose parents were professionals or civil servants planned to enter university, compared with roughly 20% of children of manual labourers, most of whom intended to work immediately. The findings position career orientation not as a purely individual disposition but as a socially situated process reproduced through family economic context and observable role models. They also highlight the need for inclusive career guidance that compensates for unequal access to such role models.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Akkermans, J., Brenninkmeijer, V., Huibers, M., & Blonk, R. W. B. (2013). Competencies for the contemporary career: Development and preliminary validation of the Career Competencies Questionnaire. Journal of Career Development, 40(3), 245-267.
Akosah-Twumasi, P., Emeto, T. I., Lindsay, D., Tsey, K., & Malau-Aduli, B. S. (2018). A systematic review of factors that influence youths’ career choices-the role of culture. Frontiers in Education, 3, 58.
Ariansyah, K., et al. (2024). Comparing labor market performance of vocational and general school graduates in Indonesia: Insights from stable and crisis conditions. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 16(1), 5.
Ashby, J. S., & Schoon, I. (2010). Career success, life satisfaction and well-being: The roles of teenage career aspirations, ambition value and gender. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(3), 350-360.
Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS). (2026). Keadaan angkatan kerja di Indonesia Februari 2026 [ Central Bureau of Statistics. The labor force situation in Indonesia, February 2026]. https://www.bps.go.id/id/publication/2026/06/26/96b31cf730df9e84f17bfe03/keadaan-angkatan-kerja-di-indonesia-februari-2026.html
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman.
Beal, S. J., & Crockett, L. J. (2010). Adolescents’ occupational and educational aspirations and expectations: Links to high school activities and adult educational attainment. Developmental Psychology, 46(1), 258-265.
Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (1981). The relationship of career-related self-efficacy expectations to perceived career options in college women and men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28(5), 399-410.
Blustein, D. L. (2011). A relational theory of working. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(1), 1-17.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood.
Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Progress in studying the domain satisfaction and career self-management models. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(4), 563-578.
Creed, P. A., Patton, W., & Prideaux, L.-A. (2007). Predicting change over time in career planning and career exploration for high school students. Journal of Adolescence, 30(3), 377-392.
Diemer, M. A., & Ali, S. R. (2009). Integrating social class into vocational psychology: Theory and practice implications. Journal of Career Assessment, 17(3), 247-265.
Diemer, M. A., Mistry, R. S., Wadsworth, M. E., López, I., & Reimers, F. (2013). Best practices in conceptualizing and measuring social class in psychological research. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 13(1), 77-113.
Duffy, R. D., Blustein, D. L., Diemer, M. A., & Autin, K. L. (2016). The psychology of working theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(2), 127-148.
Fouad, N. A. (2007). Work and vocational psychology: Theory, research, and applications. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 543-564.
Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and compromise: A developmental theory of occupational aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28(6), 545-579.
Gray, M. P., & O’Brien, K. M. (2007). Advancing the assessment of women’s career choices: The Career Aspiration Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 15(3), 317-337.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2021). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hartung, P. J., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2005). Child vocational development: A review and reconsideration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66(3), 385-419.
Hirschi, A. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Issues and implications for career research and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66(3), 192-204.
Hirschi, A., & Koen, J. (2021). Contemporary career orientations and career self-management: A review and integration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 126, 103505.
Howard, K. A. S., & Walsh, M. E. (2010). Conceptions of career choice and attainment: Developmental levels in how children think about careers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(2), 143-152.
Khattab, N., Madeeha, M., Modood, T., Samara, M., & Barham, A. (2022). Fragmented career orientation: The formation of career importance, decidedness and aspirations among students. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 27(1), 45-59.
Kuijpers, M., Meijers, F., & Gundy, C. (2011). The relationship between learning environment and career competencies of students in vocational education. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 78(1), 21-30.
Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2013). Social cognitive model of career self-management: Toward a unifying view of adaptive career behavior across the life span. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(4), 557-568.
Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 103316.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79-122.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (2000). Contextual supports and barriers to career choice: A social cognitive analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(1), 36-49.
Mahfud, T., Triyono, M. B., Sudira, P., & Mulyani, Y. (2020). The influence of social capital and career adaptability on employability among vocational students. International Journal of Instruction, 13(1), 101-116.
Rojewski, J. W. (2005). Occupational aspirations: Constructs, meanings, and application. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 131-154). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17-34.
Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling (2nd ed., pp. 147-183). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J.-P., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st century. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(3), 239-250.
Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661-673.
Sawitri, D. R., & Creed, P. A. (2015). Perceived career congruence between adolescents and their parents as a moderator between goal orientation and career aspirations. Personality and Individual Differences, 81, 29-34.
Sawitri, D. R., & Creed, P. A. (2017). Collectivism and perceived congruence with parents as antecedents to career aspirations: A social cognitive perspective. Journal of Career Development, 44(6), 530-543.
Sawitri, D. R., Creed, P. A., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2013). The Adolescent-Parent Career Congruence Scale: Development and initial validation. Journal of Career Assessment, 21(2), 210-226.
Sawitri, D. R., Creed, P. A., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2014). Parental influences and adolescent career behaviours in a collectivist cultural setting. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 14(2), 161-180.
Schoon, I., & Parsons, S. (2002). Teenage aspirations for future careers and occupational outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60(2), 262-288.
Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417-453.
Super, D. E. (1980). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16(3), 282-298.
Vondracek, F. W., Lerner, R. M., & Schulenberg, J. E. (1986). Career development: A life-span developmental approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Whiston, S. C., & Keller, B. K. (2004). The influences of the family of origin on career development: A review and analysis. The Counseling Psychologist, 32(4), 493-568.
Wu, R., Sun, X., Huang, B., Feng, H., Qi, Y., & Si, J. (2025). Unleashing the power of family socioeconomic status and perceived parental expectations: Predicting adolescents’ career aspirations. Social Psychology of Education, 28(1), Article 38.
Zheng, L., Meng, H., Wang, S., Liang, Y., Nie, R., Jiang, L., Li, B., Cao, H., & Zhou, N. (2023). Adolescents’ family socioeconomic status, teacher-student interactions, and career ambivalence/adaptability. Journal of Career Development, 50(2), 445-464.
Zhou, N., Cao, H., Nie, Y., Li, X., Yu, S., Liang, Y., & Fang, X. (2020). Career-related parental processes and career adaptability and ambivalence among Chinese adolescents: A person-centered approach. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 30(1), 234-248.
Blustein, D. L., Kenny, M. E., Di Fabio, A., & Guichard, J. (2019). Expanding the impact of the psychology of working: Engaging psychology in the global crisis of unemployment and underemployment. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(1), 3-28.
Gushue, G. V., Scanlan, K. R. L., Pantzer, K. M., & Clarke, C. P. (2006). The relationship of career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational identity, and career exploration behavior in African American high school students. Journal of Career Development, 33(1), 19-28.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2014). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice (3rd ed.). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/invotec.v22i1.100842
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2026 Nuril Fadhilah, Diana Tien Irafahmi, Dian Nurul Lita
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
This work is licensed under a Lisensi Creative Commons Atribusi-BerbagiSerupa 4.0 Internasional.