TABLE 5.

Attributes of Imagined Futures by Parent or Guardian’s Educational Attainment

	Parent or Guardian’s Educational Attainment				Statistical Test (Polychoric Correlation)
	0–8 Years	9–10 Years	11–12 Years	12+ Years
N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14	8	13	4
Mean no. of words discussing aspirations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	560.14	587.50	665.00	1071.5	ρ = .45
SD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	262.96	198.49	335.97	238.07	SE = .13**
Mean no. of years required to achieve goal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	2.57	2.38	2.54	2.75	ρ = −.12
SD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	.94	1.06	1.33	2.21	SE = .25
Described detailed sequence of steps leading to goal (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	25	38	75	ρ = .62 SE = .16**
Critical attitude toward teachers or current school facilities (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14	50	62	50	ρ=.47 SE = .18*
Reason for choosing occupational goal:					Fisher’s exact test P = .024*
Abstract impression (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	50	25	8	25
Desire to help others (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14	50	46	0
Influenced by a role model (%) . . . . . . . .	14	13	46	75
No reason provided (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	21	13	0	0

Note.—See the appendix for a detailed description of the coding scheme used to assign these categories.

^*P = .05.

^**P = .01.