Discrepancies in Achievement: Aspirations vs. Expectations Among Students

HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF DIFFERENCES

There is a large body of research that focuses on the educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of minority students as well as between male vs. female students. Expectation is defined as a concrete or realistic plan students have and may differ from aspirations, which are generally more abstract and ideological (Trusty, 2002). As Hanson (1994) describes, a student may well have a high aspiration, as evidenced in the national statistics, such as to achieve a college degree; however many students might not actually expect to earn that degree during the course of their education (Trusty, 2002).

Why the discrepancy? In the past little effort has been made to differentiate between aspirations and expectations; and example given is a study conducted in 1991 by Marjoribanks, who used the term 'aspirations' to describe his study, but actually measured student...
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