Differences In Career Aspirations Between Gifted Girls And Boys
Adolescence brings changes in gifted girls’ aspirations, expectations, attitudes, and achievement. The changes that occur for gifted girls today are subtler than those that occurred in the past. The changes are most evident in academic achievement test scores, course taking, and other academically related behaviors. That is, by sophomore year of college, many gifted women have changed their majors to less challenging disciplines; by senior year they may have changed to lower career goals; and by five years after college graduation, they may have compromised their original dreams entirely (Kerr, 1997).
For gifted boys, it is quite a different story. Career development tends to be linear for academically talented boys, with career aspirations, particularly in math and science leading to academic majors and jobs in related areas. However, gifted boys, too, disengage from earlier goals by becoming less enthusiastic, or even disillusioned about their career choices (Arnold & Denny). A striking theme in the lives of gifted men is an unimaginative vocationalism that often leads to a loss of interest in occupation and a quiet acceptance of an ordinary life (Kerr & Cohn, 2001).
Although sex-role-stereotyped career interests are well established by second grade in the general population of girls and boys, gifted girls may have career interests more similar to those of gifted boys (Silverman, 1986; Terman & Oden, 1935) and, gifted girls tend to be less rigid in their sex role identification than average girls (Terman & Oden, 1935; Hay & Bakken, 1991; Kerr, 1997). Young gifted girls have high aspirations and vivid career fantasies. They dream of being paleontologists, astronauts, and ambassadors (Kerr, 1997). In the last twenty years, gifted girls’ aspirations have continued to climb; at this point their career goals are just as high as those of gifted boys. The major difference between the aspirations of gifted girls and gifted boys is the stronger motivation to help others for the girls, and stronger motivation for high paying salaries for the boys.
Gifted girls nearly always want careers that make people’s lives better, or that make the world safer. Gifted boys, socialized still to be providers, are just as idealistic as girls; however, they often choose careers that will lead to high salaries and high status while fulfilling ideals.
Hollinger (1991) stressed the need to provide career counseling that is highly individualistic for gifted adolescents, taking into consideration the conflicting messages of multipotentiality and gender stereotypes during this time of development where they are trying to make decisions about their future. Guidance and Counseling for the Gifted, another Gifted Endorsement course, will provide a more in-depth understanding of the types of activities that can be very effective. Some of these include: providing same sex mentors in career fields of interest to the students; providing shadowing experiences in areas of interest; and developing independent study projects that explore the early biographies of same sex professionals in the students’ career areas of interest.
Click on the graphic on the left to launch an interactive activity that will help you learn more about John Holland's theory of career choices.
There are both external and internal barriers present that affect the full realization of gifted potential in both boys and girls. Cultural influences, familial influences, availability of role models and mentors, and schooling influences are some of the external barriers to be addressed. Social self-esteem, fear of success, low achievement motivation, lack of assertiveness, multipotentiality, underachievement, and perfectionism are some of the internal forces affecting both genders’ ability to demonstrate their giftedness. The first step is awareness and recognition of the presence of barriers when working with gifted students. The second step is to realize when these barriers may be putting a gifted student at great risk and taking action. In some instances action may be as simple as a conversation with the student or a change in activity; in others it may mean intervention by parents and mental health professionals. The following section is a list of issues of particular concern for gifted girls and boys.