Connection of life-style preferences and professional interests in fifteen-year old pupils

Abstract

The subject matter of the survey is the connection of life-style preferences and professional interests of fifteen-year-old pupils. The sample includes the pupils of the 8th grade of primary school (229 subjects questioned out of which 111 (48,5% ) are boys and 118 (51,5%) are girls). To gather the data The test of professional interests was applied as well as a modified Allport- Vernon-Lindzey scale of values. The analysis of the data via the method of canonical correlation analysis shows that the two sets of variables are connected on a latent level through four statistically significant canonical pairs. The results of the survey show that under the condition of maximum connection with professional interests certain life-style preferences may be grouped in a way similar to that in the research by Popadic where three factors were isolated through factor analysis. Canonical pairs may be interpreted in the following way: (1) The highest level of connection is observed between cognitive style and science; (2) The pupils who are not oriented towards personal aims (utilitarianism, popularity, power), but are altruistic, usually exhibit a professional interest in humanitarian, health-care work; (3) The pupils who are oriented towards family goals (connection among religious-traditional style, family-sentimental style and altruistic orientation) are interested in humanitarian, health-care work and security; apart from that they want to enjoy life, become popular and attain power, and there are also interests in administration, trade, food business and agriculture, which is why this canonical pair cannot be wholly interpreted; (4) The pupils most of whose preferences are oriented towards popularity, altruism and Promethean activism, i.e. those pupils who are oriented towards the social surroundings goals, exhibit a professional interest in the fields of culture, humanitarian, health-care work, security, and none in technology or craft. The conclusions drawn here possess practical implications for professional orientation, because, among other factors, values are also relevant to the choice of profession.