An Eye on the Future: Student Plans for Higher Education in Qatar
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Oct 29, 2024
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Abstract
Education is identified as very critical to the achievement of the goals that were specified as strategic to Qatar’s socio-economic progress and development. At the core of the country’s policy plans is the need to develop human capacity as is highlighted in the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030. Not surprisingly, education has been identified as a strategic key to achieving the goals outlined in the QNV 2030. The present exploratory study employed a quantitative research design in order to investigate the factors that are likely to influence the educational aspirations of Qatari students. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Attribution Theory (AT), this study sought to examine students’ aspirations for post-secondary education in Qatar. Data for this study were collected using the Qatar Education Study (QES) survey, which is a nationally representative survey involving K-12 students in the State of Qatar. The analysis of this study’s data revealed that personal and household characteristics play an important role in shaping post-secondary educational aspirations of student participants, including age, nationality, education and employment status, as well as parental influence. Based on the study’s results, statistically significant associations were observed between personal and household variables and students’ aspirations for higher education. This study concludes with relevant recommendations and proposes future studies to explore the potential impact of individual aptitude and contextual factors on student future academic plans.
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Keywords
Educational aspirationsHigh school studentsQatar
References
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Ansong, D., Eisensmith, S. R., Okumu, m., & Chowa, G. A. (2019). The importance of self-efficacy and educational aspirations for T academic achievement in resource-limited countries: Evidence from Ghana. Journal of Adolescence, 70, 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.11.003
Barhate, B., & Dirani, K. M. (2021). Career aspirations of generation Z : A systematic literature review. European Journal of Training and Development. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2020-0124
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
–––. (1986). The explanatory and predictive scope of self-efficacy theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4(3), 359.
–––. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman & Co.
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. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0017416
Boxer, P., Goldstein, S. E., DeLorenzo, T., Savoy, S. & Mercado, I. (2011). Educational aspiration–expectation discrepancies: Relation to socioeconomic and academic risk-related factors. Journal of Adolescence, 34(4), 609-617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.10.002
Bursal, M. (2012). Changes in American preservice elementary teachers' efficacy beliefs and anxieties during a science methods course. Science Education International, 23(1), 40-55.
DeWitt, J., Archer, L., & Osborne, J. (2014). Science-related aspirations across the primary-secondary divide: Evidence from two surveys in England. International Journal of Science Education, 36(10), 1609-1629. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.871659
Fang, L. (2016). Educational aspirations of Chinese migrant children: The role of self-esteem contextual and individual influences. Learning and Individual Differences, 50, 195-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.08.009
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Gutman, L. M., & Schoon, I. (2018). Emotional engagement, educational aspirations, and their association during secondary school. Journal of Adolescence, 67, 109-119.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.05.014
Guo, J., Marsh, H. W., Morin, A. J., Parker, P. D., & Kaur, G. (2015). Directionality of the associations of high school expectancy-value, aspirations, and attainment: A longitudinal study. American Educational Research Journal, 52(2), 371-402. DOI: 10.3102/0002831214565786
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Maltais, C., Duchesne, S., Ratelle, C. F., & Feng, B. (2015). Attachment to the mother and achievement goal orientations at the beginning of middle school: The mediating role of academic competence and anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 39, 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.03.006
McDonnough, J. T., & Matkins, J. J. (2010). The role of field experience in elementary preservice teachers' self‐efficacy and ability to connect research to practice. School Science and Mathematics, 110(1), 13-23.
Mitchell, J. S., & Gengler, J. J. (2019). What money can’t buy: Wealth, inequality, and economic satisfaction in the rentier state. Political Research Quarterly, 72(1), 75-89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912918776128
Poynton, T. A., & Lapan, R. T. (2017). Aspirations, achievement, and school counselors' impact on the college transition. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(4), 369-377. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12152
Ridge, N. (2014). Education and the reverse gender divide in the Gulf States: Embracing the global, ignoring the local. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
Rojewski, J. W. (2005). Occupational aspirations: constructs, meanings, and application. In S. D. Brown and R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 131–154). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Sellami, A. (2019). Parental influence on student educational expectations: Results from the 2012 Qatar Education Study. International Journal of Higher Education, 8(4), 189-201. DOI: 10.5430/ijhe.v8n4p189
Sellami, A. Kimmel, L., Wittrock, J., Hunscher, B., Cotter, A., Al-Emadi, A., & Al-Emadi, D. (2017). Factors shaping Qatari students’ career expectations in STEM, business, or public sectors fields. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (EJMSTE), 13(10), 6491–6505. ISSN: 1305-8215 (print), 1305-8223 (online). DOI: 10.12973/ejmste/77043
Schmitt-Wilson, S. & Faas, C. (2016). Alignment of educational and occupational expectations influences on young adult educational attainment, income, and underemployment. Social Science Quarterly, 97(5), 1174-1188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12244
Stasz, C., Eide, E. R. & Martorell, P. (2007). Post-secondary education in Qatar: Employer demand, student choice, and options for policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Education.
Trebbels, M. (2014). The transition at the end of compulsory full-time education. Educational and future career aspirations of native and migrant students. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
–––. (2015). The transition at the end of compulsory full-time education: Educational and future career aspirations for native and migrant students. Wiesbaden: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-06241-5
Van den Broeck, L., Demanet, J., & Van Houtte, M. (2020). The forgotten role of teachers in students’ educational aspirations. School composition effects and the buffering capacity of teachers’ expectations culture. Teaching and Teacher Education, 90, 103015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103015
Vryonides, M. & Gouvias, D. (2012). Parents’ aspirations for their children's educational and occupational prospects in Greece: The role of social class. International Journal of Educational Research, 53, 319-329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.04.005
Weiner, B. (1972). Attribution theory, achievement motivation, and the educational process. Review of Educational Research, 42(2), 203-215.
–––. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92(4), 548–573. DOI: 10.1037/0033-295X.92.4.548
Albion, P. R., & Spence, K. G. (2013). Primary Connections in a provincial Queensland school system: Relationships to science teaching self-efficacy and practices. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 8(3), 501-520. DOI: 10.12973/ijese.2013.215a
Al-Misnad, S. A. (2015). The dearth of Qatari men in higher education: Reasons and implications. Washington, DC: Middle Easter Institute. http://www.mei.edu/content/dearth-qatari-men-higher-education-reasons-and-implications
Ansong, D., Eisensmith, S. R., Okumu, m., & Chowa, G. A. (2019). The importance of self-efficacy and educational aspirations for T academic achievement in resource-limited countries: Evidence from Ghana. Journal of Adolescence, 70, 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.11.003
Barhate, B., & Dirani, K. M. (2021). Career aspirations of generation Z : A systematic literature review. European Journal of Training and Development. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2020-0124
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
–––. (1986). The explanatory and predictive scope of self-efficacy theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4(3), 359.
–––. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman & Co.
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. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0017416
Boxer, P., Goldstein, S. E., DeLorenzo, T., Savoy, S. & Mercado, I. (2011). Educational aspiration–expectation discrepancies: Relation to socioeconomic and academic risk-related factors. Journal of Adolescence, 34(4), 609-617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.10.002
Bursal, M. (2012). Changes in American preservice elementary teachers' efficacy beliefs and anxieties during a science methods course. Science Education International, 23(1), 40-55.
DeWitt, J., Archer, L., & Osborne, J. (2014). Science-related aspirations across the primary-secondary divide: Evidence from two surveys in England. International Journal of Science Education, 36(10), 1609-1629. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.871659
Fang, L. (2016). Educational aspirations of Chinese migrant children: The role of self-esteem contextual and individual influences. Learning and Individual Differences, 50, 195-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.08.009
General Secretariat for Development Planning (GSDP). (2008). Qatar national vision 2030. Doha, Qatar: General Secretariat for Development Planning. Retrieved from QNV2030_English_v2.pdf (psa.gov.qa).
Gölz, N., & Wohlkinger, F. (2019). Determinants of students’ idealistic and realistic educational aspirations in elementary school. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 22(6), 1397-1431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-019-00916-x
Gutman, L. M., & Schoon, I. (2018). Emotional engagement, educational aspirations, and their association during secondary school. Journal of Adolescence, 67, 109-119.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.05.014
Guo, J., Marsh, H. W., Morin, A. J., Parker, P. D., & Kaur, G. (2015). Directionality of the associations of high school expectancy-value, aspirations, and attainment: A longitudinal study. American Educational Research Journal, 52(2), 371-402. DOI: 10.3102/0002831214565786
Hanson, J.M., Paulsen, M.B. & Pascarella, E.T. (2016). Understanding graduate school aspirations: The effect of good teaching practices. Higher Education, 71, 735–752. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9934-2
Khattab, N. (2015). Students’ aspirations, expectations and school achievement: What really matters? British Educational Research Journal, 41(5), 731-748. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/berj.3171
Khattab, N., Madeeha, M., Samara, M., Modood, T., & Barham, A. (2021). Do educational aspirations and expectations matter in improving school achievement? Social Psychology of Education, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09670-7
Madeeha, M., Khattab, N., Samara, M., Modood, T., & Barham, A. (2022): Explaining the educational aspirations-expectations mismatch among middle school students: the role of parental expectations, attitudinal and demographic factors. Educational Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2022.2088228
Maltais, C., Duchesne, S., Ratelle, C. F., & Feng, B. (2015). Attachment to the mother and achievement goal orientations at the beginning of middle school: The mediating role of academic competence and anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 39, 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.03.006
McDonnough, J. T., & Matkins, J. J. (2010). The role of field experience in elementary preservice teachers' self‐efficacy and ability to connect research to practice. School Science and Mathematics, 110(1), 13-23.
Mitchell, J. S., & Gengler, J. J. (2019). What money can’t buy: Wealth, inequality, and economic satisfaction in the rentier state. Political Research Quarterly, 72(1), 75-89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912918776128
Poynton, T. A., & Lapan, R. T. (2017). Aspirations, achievement, and school counselors' impact on the college transition. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(4), 369-377. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12152
Ridge, N. (2014). Education and the reverse gender divide in the Gulf States: Embracing the global, ignoring the local. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
Rojewski, J. W. (2005). Occupational aspirations: constructs, meanings, and application. In S. D. Brown and R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 131–154). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Sellami, A. (2019). Parental influence on student educational expectations: Results from the 2012 Qatar Education Study. International Journal of Higher Education, 8(4), 189-201. DOI: 10.5430/ijhe.v8n4p189
Sellami, A. Kimmel, L., Wittrock, J., Hunscher, B., Cotter, A., Al-Emadi, A., & Al-Emadi, D. (2017). Factors shaping Qatari students’ career expectations in STEM, business, or public sectors fields. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (EJMSTE), 13(10), 6491–6505. ISSN: 1305-8215 (print), 1305-8223 (online). DOI: 10.12973/ejmste/77043
Schmitt-Wilson, S. & Faas, C. (2016). Alignment of educational and occupational expectations influences on young adult educational attainment, income, and underemployment. Social Science Quarterly, 97(5), 1174-1188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12244
Stasz, C., Eide, E. R. & Martorell, P. (2007). Post-secondary education in Qatar: Employer demand, student choice, and options for policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Education.
Trebbels, M. (2014). The transition at the end of compulsory full-time education. Educational and future career aspirations of native and migrant students. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
–––. (2015). The transition at the end of compulsory full-time education: Educational and future career aspirations for native and migrant students. Wiesbaden: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-06241-5
Van den Broeck, L., Demanet, J., & Van Houtte, M. (2020). The forgotten role of teachers in students’ educational aspirations. School composition effects and the buffering capacity of teachers’ expectations culture. Teaching and Teacher Education, 90, 103015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103015
Vryonides, M. & Gouvias, D. (2012). Parents’ aspirations for their children's educational and occupational prospects in Greece: The role of social class. International Journal of Educational Research, 53, 319-329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.04.005
Weiner, B. (1972). Attribution theory, achievement motivation, and the educational process. Review of Educational Research, 42(2), 203-215.
–––. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92(4), 548–573. DOI: 10.1037/0033-295X.92.4.548
How to Cite
Sellami, Abdellatif, Youmen Chaaban, and Saba Mansoor Qadhi. 2024. “An Eye on the Future: Student Plans for Higher Education in Qatar”. Journal of Educational Sciences – Qatar University 24 (2). https://doi.org/10.29117/jes.2024.0181.
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Articles in English