Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Gender and Realized Educational Expectations: The Roles of Social Origins and Significant Others

  • Published:
Research in Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Gender gaps in educational expectations and postsecondary enrollment are well studied, but few scholars have investigated the extent to which students realize or fail to realize their expectations. Even fewer have examined how the likelihood of realizing one’s expectations may differ for men and women. Using 35 years of data, this study examines the role race, social class, and significant others’ influences have played in realizing educational expectations and how these relationships have differed for men and women. It also investigates how group gender differences in these characteristics have contributed to the gap between the proportion of men and proportion of women who have realized their educational expectations via college enrollment. Results show trends in realized expectations by gender over time. Group gender differences explain little of past gaps but returns on students’ characteristics differ by gender, which has been a key explanatory factor for differences between men and women in realizing their expectations. Implications of these findings relative to policy and program initiatives are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We conducted all analysis in Stata. The “ice” command was used for multiple imputation, with the “mim” command prefix used to account for multiple imputed datasets in our analyses. The “svy” command was used to account for the weights and complex survey design.

  2. We recognize that the presentation of the formulas in this way, which is done so to remain consistent with Fairlie, may be unfamiliar to some readers. However, Eqs. 1 and 2 are really just multiplicative expansions of an alternate formula, which, for Eq. 1 would basically be: \( \overline{Y}^{F} - \overline{Y}^{M} = (X_{i}^{F} - X_{i}^{M} )\hat{\beta }^{F} + (\hat{\beta }^{F} - \hat{\beta }^{M} )X_{i}^{M} \).

  3. The specific Stata command we use to conduct the decomposition is “Fairlie” (Jann 2006).

  4. Although there is virtually no gender gap in the ELS data in aggregate, gaps still exist by subgroups. For example, there is a 6.8 % gender gap for Asian students. Interestingly, across SES quintiles, the largest gender gap is among the three highest quintiles (Seifert et al. 2010).

  5. In general, the findings from HS&B appear slightly different than the other datasets, and often do not fit apparent trends. As stated, we assume this is primarily due to different items being used on the survey instrument, and therefore different constructs actually being measured. Therefore, we advise caution in interpreting all of the HS&B results given such discrepancies.

  6. $10,000 in 1972 = $2324 in 2004; $10,000 in 1980 = $4,580 in 2004; $10,000 in 1992 = $7,799 in 2004. To convert odds ratios to represent constant 2004 dollars we took the natural log of the odds ratio in order to get the logit coefficient, then multiplied this logit by the fraction of 2004 dollars represented, then converted this modified logit coefficient back to an odds ratio.

References

  • Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the toolbox: Academic intensity, attendance patterns, and bachelor’s degree attainment. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

  • Alexander, K., Bozick, R., & Entwisle, D. (2008). Warming up, cooling out, or holding steady? Persistence and change in educational expectations after high school. Sociology of Education, 81(4), 371–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, K. L., Holupka, S., & Pallas, A. M. (1987). Social background and academic determinants of two-year versus four-year college attendance: Evidence from two cohorts a decade apart. American Journal of Education, 96(1), 56–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. D. (1999). Multiple regression: A primer. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. D. (2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Averett, S. L., & Burton, M. L. (1996). College attendance and the college wage premium: By gender. Economics of Education Review, 15(1), 37–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barley, S. R. (1992). The new crafts: The rise of the technical labor force and its implication for the organization of work. EQW Working Paper WP05. National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania.

  • Barton, P. E. (2000). What jobs require: Literacy, education, and training, 1940–2006. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, T. K., & Sinning, M. (2008). An extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to nonlinear models. Advances in Statistical Analysis, 92, 197–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beattie, I. R. (2002). Are all “adolescent econometricians” created equal? Racial, class, gender differences in college enrollment. Sociology of Education, 75, 19–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1993). Nobel lecture: The economic way of looking at behavior. Journal of Political Economy, 101(3), 385–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, P. R., & Lutz, A. (2009). How African American is the net black advantage? Differences in college attendance among immigrant Blacks, Native Blacks, and Whites. Sociology of Education, 82, 70–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berends, M., Lucas, S., & Peñaloza, R. (2008). How changes in families and schools are related to trends in Black–White test scores. Sociology of Education, 81(4), 313–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackhurst, A. E., & Auger, R. W. (2008). Precursors to the gender gap in college enrollment: Children’s aspirations and expectations for their futures. Professional School Counseling, 11(3), 149–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. M., & Duncan, O. D. (1967). The American occupational structure. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blinder, A. S. (1973). Wage discrimination: Reduced form and structural variables. Journal of Human Resources, 8(4), 436–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozick, R., & DeLuca, S. (2005). Better late than never: Delayed enrollment in the high school to college transition. Social Forces, 84, 528–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brint, S., & Karabel, J. (1989). Diverted dream: Community colleges and the promise of educational opportunity in America, 1900–1985. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C. (2009). Gender inequalities in the transition to college. Teachers College Record, 111, 2320–2346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C., & Dalton, B. (2002). Interpersonal influences and educational aspirations in 12 countries: The importance of institutional context. Sociology of Education, 75(2), 99–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C., & DiPrete, T. (2006). The growing female advantage in college completion: The role of family background and academic achievement. American Sociological Review, 71, 515–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C., DiPrete, T. A., & McDaniel, A. (2008). Gender inequalities in education. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 319–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2005). Tomorrow’s jobs. Retrieved November 11, 2006 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm.

  • Cabrera, A. F., & La Nasa, S. M. (2001). On the path to college: Three critical tasks facing America’s disadvantaged. Research in Higher Education, 42(2), 119–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, R. S., & Wojtkiewicz, R. A. (2000). Parental involvement with adolescents’ education: Do daughters or sons get more help? Adolescence, 35(137), 29–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X. (1997). Students’ peer groups in high school: The pattern and relationship to educational outcomes (Statistics in Brief NCES97-055). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, D. (2007). The role of high school performance in explaining women’s rising college enrollment. Economics of Education Review, 26(4), 450–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choy, S. P., Horn, L. J., Nunez, A. M., & Chen, X. (2000). Transition to college: What helps at-risk students and students whose parents did not attend college. New Directions for Institutional Research, 107, 45–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, B. (1960). The “cooling-out” function in higher education. The American Journal of Sociology, 65, 569–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clogg, C. C., Petkova, E., & Haritou, A. (1995). Statistical methods for comparing regression coefficients between models. The American Journal of Sociology, 100(5), 1261–1293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1987). Parents as educational models and definers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 49, 339–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S., & Hoffer, T. (1987). Public and private high schools: The impact of communities. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S., Hoffer, T., & Kilgore, S. (1982). High school achievement: Public, catholic and private schools compared. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croninger, R. G., & Douglas, K. M. (2005). Missing data and institutional research. In P. D. Umbach (Ed.), New Directions for Institutional Research: No. 127. Survey Research: Emerging issues of technology, policy, and analysis (pp. 33–49). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  • Davies, E., & Lea, S. E. G. (1995). Student attitudes to student debt. Journal of Economic Psychology, 16, 663–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delaney, J. (2005). Boys beginning school: Behavior and performance. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66(09), 3208A.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P. J., & Mohr, J. (1985). Cultural capital, educational attainment, and marriage selection. American Journal of Sociology, 90(6), 1231–1261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domina, T., Conley, A., & Farkas, G. (2011a). The link between educational expectations and effort in the college-for-all era. Sociology of Education, 84(2), 93–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domina, T., Conley, A., & Farkas, G. (2011b). The case for dreaming big. Sociology of Education, 84(2), 118–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downey, D. B., Ainsworth, J. W., & Qian, Z. (2009). Rethinking the attitude-achievement paradox among blacks. Sociology of Education, 82(1), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downey, D., & Powell, B. (1993). Do children in single-parent households fare better living with same-sex parents? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 55–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dynarski, S. (2007). Cradle to college: The puzzle of gender differences in educational outcomes. Cambridge: Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellwood, D. T., & Kane, T. L. (2000). Who is getting a college education? Family background and growing gaps in enrollment. In S. Danzinger & J. Waldfogel (Eds.), Securing the future: Investing in children from birth to college (pp. 283–324). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewert, S. (2010). Male and female pathways through four-year colleges: Disruption and sex stratification in higher education. American Educational Research Journal, 47(4), 744–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairlie, R. W. (1999). The absence of the African-American owned business: An analysis of the dynamics of self-employment. Journal of Labor Economics, 17(1), 80–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairlie, R. W. (2005). An extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique to logit and probit models. Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 30(4), 305–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feliciano, C. (2006). Beyond the family: The influence of premigration group status on the educational expectations of immigrants’ children. Sociology of Education, 79, 281–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frost, M. B. (2007). Texas students’ college expectations: Does high school racial composition matter? Sociology of Education, 80(1), 43–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gamoran, A. (1992). The variable effects of high school tracking. American Sociological Review, 57, 812–828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gàndara, P. C. (1995). Over the ivy walls: The educational mobility of low-income Chicanos. Albany: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goyette, K. A. (2008). College for some to college for all: Social background, occupational expectations, and educational expectations over time. Social Science Research, 37, 461–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goyette, K., & Xie, Y. (1999). Educational expectations of Asian American youths: Determinants and ethnic differences. Sociology of Education, 72, 22–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grodsky, E., & Jackson, E. (2009). Social stratification in higher education. Teachers College Record, 111, 2347–2384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grodsky, E., & Riegle-Crumb, C. (2010). Those who choose and those who don’t: Social background and college orientation. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 627(1), 14–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hallinan, M. T., & Williams, R. A. (1990). Students’ characteristics and the peer-influence process. Sociology of Education, 63, 122–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, S. L. (1994). Lost talent: Unrealized educational aspirations and expectations among U.S. youths. Sociology of Education, 67, 159–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauser, R., & Anderson, D. (1991). Post-high school plans and aspirations of black and white high school seniors: 1976–1986. Sociology of Education, 64, 263–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hearn, J. (1992). Emerging variations in postsecondary attendance patterns: An investigation of part-time, delayed, and nondegree enrollment. Research in Higher Education, 33, 657–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn, L. J. (1997). Confronting the odds: Students at risk and the pipeline to higher education (NCES No. 98-094). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

  • Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: How social, economic, and educational factors influences the decisions students make. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., & Stage, F. K. (1992). Family and high school experience influences on the postsecondary educational plans of ninth-grade students. American Educational Research Journal, 29, 425–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hout, M., & Morgan, W. R. (1975). Race and sex variations in the causes of the expected attainments of high school seniors. The American Journal of Sociology, 81(2), 364–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Intini, J. (2010). Are we raising our boys to be underachieving men? Macleans. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/10/18/raising-our-boys/3/.

  • Jacob, B. A. (2002). Where the boys aren’t: Non-cognitive skills, returns to school and the gender gap in higher education. Economics of Education Review, 21, 589–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jann, B. (2006). Fairlie: Stata module to generate nonlinear decomposition of binary outcome differentials. http://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s456727.html. Accessed 1 Dec 2011.

  • Kane, T. (2001). College-going and inequality: A literature review. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, J., & Spizman, L. M. (1994). Race, financial aid awards and college attendance: Parents and geography matter. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 53(1), 85–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kao, G., & Thompson, J. (2003). Racial and ethnic stratification in educational achievement and attainment. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 417–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kao, G., & Tienda, M. (1998). Educational aspirations of minority youth. American Journal of Education, 106, 349–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kindlon, D., & Thompson, M. (2000). Raising cain: Protecting the emotional life of boys. New York: Ballantine Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, J. E. (2000). Gender equity in higher education: Are male students at a disadvantage?. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, J. E. (2006). Gender equity in higher education: 2006. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, J. E. (2010). Gender equity in higher education: 2010. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lareau, A. (2000). Linking Bourdieu’s concept of capital to the broader field: The case of family-school relationships. In B. J. Biddle (Ed.), Social class, poverty and education: Policy and practice (pp. 77–100). New York: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, S. (2007, August). What if your friends are good students: A network approach to explain the gender difference in college attendance. Paper presented at the American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Conference, New York, NY.

  • Lopez, N. (2003). Hopeful girls, troubled boys. Race and gender disparity in urban education. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacLeod, J. (1995). Ain’t no makin’ it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahaffy, K. A., & Ward, S. K. (2002). The gendering of adolescents’ childbearing and educational plans: Reciprocal effects and the influence of social context. Sex Roles, 46, 403–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manski, C. F. (1993). Adolescent econometricians: How do youth infer the returns to schooling? In C. T. Clotfelter, & M. Rothschild (Eds.), Studies of supply and demand in higher education (pp. 43–60). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mare, R. D., & Chang, H. C. (2006). Family attainment norms and educational stratification in the United States and Taiwan: Changing patterns of educational attainment in the United States. In S. L. Morgan, D. B. Grusky, & G. S. Fields (Eds.), Mobility and inequality: Frontiers of researcher in sociology and economics (pp. 195–231). Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mau, W. C., & Bikos, L. H. (2000). Educational and vocational aspirations of minority and female students: A longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78, 186–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonough, P. M. (1997). Choosing college: How social class and schools structure opportunity. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mickelson, R. A. (1990). The attitude-achievement paradox among black adolescents. Sociology of Education, 63(1), 44–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2009a). Digest of education statistics, table 201. Retrieved April 25, 2010 from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_201.asp.

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2009b). Digest of education statistics, table 226. Retrieved April 25, 2010 from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_226.asp.

  • Oaxaca, R. L. (1973). Male-female wage differentials in urban labor markets. International Economic Review, 14(3), 693–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, N., Hammack, F. M., & Scott, M. A. (2010). Social capital, financial knowledge, and Hispanic student college choices. Research in Higher Education, 51, 195–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  • Perie, M., Moran, R., & Lutkus, A. D. (2005). NAEP 2004 trends in academic progress: Three decades of students performance in reading and mathematics (No. NCES 2005-464). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.

  • Perna, L. W. (2002). Pre-college outreach programs: Characteristics of programs serving historically underrepresented groups of students. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 64–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perna, L. W., & Titus, M. A. (2005). The relationship between parental involvement asocial capital and college enrollment: An examination of racial/ethnic group differences. The Journal of Higher Education, 76, 486–518.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peter, K., and Horn, L. (2005). Gender differences in participation and completion of undergraduate education and how they have changed over time (NCES 2005–169). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

  • Powell, B., & Downey, D. B. (1997). Living in single-parent households: An investigation of the same-sex hypothesis. American Sociological Review, 62, 419–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin-Hilliard, D. B. (2003). Gendered expectations and gendered experiences: Immigrant students’ adaptation in schools. New Directions for Youth Development, 2003(100), 91–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raftery, A. (1995). Bayesian model selection in social research. Sociological Methodology, 25, 111–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, J. R., & Burge, S. W. (2002). Gender-related changes in educational expectations: The roles of family, school, and race/ethnicity. Washington, DC: Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Institutional Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, J. R., & Burge, S. W. (2008). Educational expectations and the rise in women’s post-secondary attainments. Social Science Research, 37, 485–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, J. R., & DesJardins, S. (2009). The use of matching methods in higher education research. In J. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 24, pp. 47–104). Netherlands: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, J. (2001). Beyond college for all: Career paths for the forgotten half. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, J. E. (2011). The complexities of college for all: Beyond fairy-tale dreams. Sociology of Education, 84(2), 113–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowan-Kenyon, H. T. (2007). Predictors of delayed college enrollment and the impact of socioeconomic status. The Journal of Higher Education, 78, 188–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandefur, G. D., Meier, A. M., & Campbell, M. E. (2005). Family resources, social capital, and college attendance. Social Science Research, 35, 525–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sax, L. (2007). Boys adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated and underachieving men. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B., & Stevenson, D. (1999). The ambitious generation: America’s teenagers, motivated but directionless. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seifert, T., Wells, T., Saunders, D., & Gopaul. B. (2010, May). Gender and incongruity betweeneducational expectations and college enrollment: Examining 30 years of data. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.

  • Sewell, W. H., & Hauser, R. M. (1980). The Wisconsin longitudinal study of social and psychological factors in aspirations and achievements. Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization, 1, 59–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sewell, W. H., Haller, A. O., & Portes, A. (1969). The educational and early occupational attainment process. American Sociological Review, 34, 82–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sewell, W. H., Haller, A. O., & Ohlendorf, G. W. (1970). The educational and early occupational attainment process: Replication and revision. American Sociological Review, 35, 1014–1027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokatch, A. (2006). Peer influences on the college-going decisions of low socioeconomic status urban youth. Education and Urban Society, 39(1), 128–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommers, C. (2001). The war against boys. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spenner, K. I., & Featherman, D. L. (1978). Achievement ambitions. Annual Review of Sociology, 4, 373–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St. John, E. P. (2003). Refinancing the college dream: Access, equal opportunity, and justice for taxpayers. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stage, F. K., & Hossler, D. (1989). Differences in family influences on college attendance plans for male and female ninth graders. Research in Higher Education, 30, 301–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton-Salazar, R. (1997). A social capital framework for understanding the socialization of racial minority children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67, 1–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton-Salazar, R. (2005). Adolescent peer networks as a context for social and emotional support. Youth and Society, 36, 379–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teachman, J. D., & Paasch, K. (1998). The family and educational aspirations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 704–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tierney, W. G., & Colyar, J. E. (2005). The role of peer groups in college preparation programs. In W. G. Tierney, Z. B. Corwin, & J. E. Colyar (Eds.), Preparing for college: Nine elements of effective outreach (pp. 49–68). Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tierney, W. G., & Venegas, K. M. (2006). Fictive kin and social capital: The role of peer groups in applying and paying for college. American Behavioral Scientist, 49, 1687–1702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treiman, D. J. (2009). Quantitative data analysis: Doing social research to test ideas. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turley, R. N., Santos, M., & Ceja, C. (2007). Social origin and college opportunity expectations across cohorts. Social Science Research, 36, 1200–1218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, S. E. (2004). Going to college and finishing college: Explaining different educational outcomes. In C. M. Hoxby (Ed.), College choices: The economics of where to go, when to go, and how to pay for it (pp. 13–61). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Walpole, M. (2006). Socioeconomic status and college: How SES affects college experiences and outcomes. The Review of Higher Education, 27(1), 45–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters, P. B., & O’Connell, P. J. (1988). The family economy, work, and educational participation in the United States, 1890–1940. American Journal of Sociology, 93, 1116–1152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, R., Seifert, T., Park, S., Padgett, R., & Umbach, P. (2011). Why do more women than men want to earn a four-year degree? Exploring the effects of gender, social origin, and social capital on educational expectations. Journal of Higher Education, 82(1), 1–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. M., Peterson, G. W., & Wilson, P. (1993). The process of educational and occupational attainment of adolescent females from low-income, rural families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 158–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winston, G. C. (1999). Subsidies, hierarchy and peers: The awkward economics of higher education. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13(1), 13–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woelfel, J., & Haller, A. O. (1971). Significant others, the self-reflexive act and the attitude formation process. American Sociological Review, 36(1), 74–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yun, M. (2000). Decomposition analysis for a binary choice model. [Discussion Paper No. 145]. http://ideas.repec.org/p/rut/rutres/200001.html. Accessed 1 Dec 2011.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Science Foundation, and the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative under Association for Institutional Research Grant Number RG 09-167.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Education Policy, Research & Administration, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 256 Hills South, Amherst, MA, 01002, USA

    Ryan S. Wells

  2. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Tricia A. Seifert

  3. Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, 701 Planetarium Place, Box 19575, Arlington, TX, 76019-0575, USA

    Daniel B. Saunders

Authors
  1. Ryan S. Wells
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tricia A. Seifert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel B. Saunders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryan S. Wells.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wells, R.S., Seifert, T.A. & Saunders, D.B. Gender and Realized Educational Expectations: The Roles of Social Origins and Significant Others. Res High Educ 54, 599–626 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9308-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9308-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation