According to Erikson (1968), adolescents and young people are greatly engaged in the process of identity development with the intentions to evade a state of diffusion and role confusion. Not much research in the areas of identity formation and career development has explored the possible relationship between these two phenomena. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between gender identity formation (identity statuses) and career decision-making process among high school learners. In addition the study explored if there are gender differences between males and females on identity statuses, as well as on career decision-making process. A sample of 156 Grade 12 learners participated in the study. The Revised Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986) and the Study Choice Task Inventory were administered to the learners. Findings of the study showed correlation between the identity statuses of Diffusion, Foreclosure and Moratorium for males and females and the career decision–making process. No statistically significant differences were found between males and females on the variables, namely, identity statuses and aspects of career decision-making processes. Implications for theory and practice and recommendations for future research are provided.

Portant sur les étudiants hommes de formations dites « féminines » de l’enseignement supérieur, cette thèse s’intéresse à la production de l’atypisme et aux socialisations sexuées. Elle repose sur une double étude de cas des filières sage-femme et assistance de service social dans lesquelles une enquête alliant entretiens, observations et analyses statistiques a été menée. Alors que la littérature sur les trajectoires atypiques des femmes insiste sur le rôle des dispositions, cette étude de dominants en situation de minorité numérique montre le poids des contextes. Nombre d’hommes « atypiques » ne sont pas les plus disposés à opter pour une formation « féminine » : ce sont avant tout des logiques institutionnelles, relationnelles et économiques qui encouragent ce choix, même si les schèmes d’action individuels – de classe et de genre notamment – sont aussi déterminants. Une analyse articulant ces variables révèle quatre logiques à l’origine des choix atypiques : la souplesse, l’ouverture, le pragmatisme et la stratégie. Une fois en formation, les hommes font l’objet de processus de singularisation mais sont aussi enjoints au respect d’une forte norme d’égalité des sexes. Selon les situations, on attend d’eux d’alterner entre différentes pratiques genrées, c’est-à-dire de jongler avec le « féminin » et le « masculin ». La maîtrise de cette souplesse de genre procure de nombreux bénéfices mais dont tous les hommes ne savent pas ou ne peuvent pas tirer profit. La thèse montre ainsi les fonctionnements de l’ordre du genre : elle éclaire la hiérarchie entre les sexes, mais aussi celle qui ordonne les hommes entre eux dans un contexte de valorisation de la mixité et de l’égalité. / Focusing on male students in so-called “female” study paths in higher education, this thesis investigates the production of atypical trajectories and gendered socialisations. It is based on a double case study of midwifery and social work training programmes in France that combines interviews, observations and statistical analyses. While the literature on atypical trajectories of women emphasises the role of dispositions, this study of dominants in a situation of numerical minority shows the importance of contexts. Many “atypical” men are not the most disposed to opt for a “female” study path: it is above all institutional, relational, and economic logics that encourage this choice, even though individual action patterns – particularly in terms of class and gender – also play a decisive role. An analysis articulating these variables reveals four logics at the root of these atypical choices: flexibility, openness, pragmatism, and strategy. Once in training, the few men who do choose this path are subject to singularisation processes, but are also required to respect a strong norm of gender equality. Depending on the situation, they are expected to alternate between different gendered practices, i.e. to juggle with the “feminine” and the “masculine”. Mastering this gender flexibility has many benefits, but not all men know how to or can take advantage of them. This thesis thus highlights the workings of the gender order: it sheds light on the hierarchy between the sexes, but also on the hierarchy that organises men among themselves in a context of valuing diversity and equality.

Knowledge has long been acknowledged to be crucial for economic growth and in today’s market economies this is true to an even greater extent. In the past it used to be the parent’s duty to pass on this knowledge to their children, nowadays schools and higher education institutions take this responsibility. Nevertheless, parents still have a significant influence on an individual’s educational attainment. The aim of this study is to investigate and demonstrate this parental influence on the level of education as well as the subject of higher education degree. This thesis shows that individuals whose parents have at least a bachelor’s degree and above are more likely to attain one themselves. Moreover, individuals are more likely to choose a subject for that degree that is similar to their parents’ occupation.

That an individual can be influenced by people they are close to and by society is something that most people are aware of and something that has been studied before. But how does a human resource student actually experience and reason about what influenced the study choice? The aim of this study is to investigate what is the basis for an individual's choice to begin studies on the human resources program. Furthermore, we want to investigate what the studentssee as important in their future working life and if there are any differences in how they reason. Questions asked are how the individual experiences and reason about what has influenced the study choice and its attitude to the future working life and also whether it is possible to distinguish differences between the students. This qualitative study bases its results on interviews with students who study semesters fiveand sixon the human resources program at two different universities in Sweden. The theoretical framework for this study consists of Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts about habitus, capital, social space and fields. The result indicates that all individuals in this study have experienced a certain influence from people around them to further their education and that the choice to study on the human resource program was made due to a certain uncertainty about what the individual would like to work with in the future. Furthermore, the result showed that the student’s attitude to the future working life was mainly about feeling comfortable in their workplace, having the opportunity to develop and to be appreciated for their work but also to be able to work with people in some way. Some differences in the attitudes towards the future working life could be discerned and these differences can be linked to previous work experience as well as parents’ influence in terms of profession and educational background. / Att en individ kan bli påverkad av personer i ens närhet och av samhället är något som de flesta är medvetna om och något som tidigare har studerats. Men hur upplever och resonerar egentligen en student på personalvetarprogrammet vad som påverkat studievalet? Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad som ligger till grund för en individs val att påbörja studier på personalvetarprogrammet. Vidare vill vi undersöka vad studenterna ser som viktigt i det kommande arbetslivet och om det finns eventuella skillnader i hur de resonerar. Detta utifrån frågeställningarna om hur individen upplever och resonerar kring vad som påverkat studievalet och vilken inställning till det framtida arbetslivet personalvetarstudenterna har samt om det går att urskilja skillnader mellan studenterna. Denna kvalitativa studie baserar sitt resultat på intervjuer med sju studenter som studerar termin femoch sexpå personalvetarprogrammet vid två olika universitet i Sverige. Det teoretiska ramverket i studien består av Pierre Bourdieus teoretiska begrepp habitus, kapital, det sociala rummet och fält. Resultatet tyder på att alla individer i studien har upplevt enviss påverkan från omgivningen att vidareutbilda sig samt att valet av personalvetarprogrammet gjordes på grund av en viss osäkerhet kring vad individen vill arbeta med. Vidare framkom det i resultatet att studenternas inställning till det framtida arbetslivet främst handlade om att trivas på sin arbetsplats, ha möjlighet att utvecklas samt att bli uppskattad för sitt arbete men även att få arbeta med människor på något sätt. Vissa skillnader i inställningen till det framtida arbetslivet gick att urskilja och dessa skillnader kan kopplas till tidigare arbetslivserfarenhet och föräldrars påverkan i form av yrke och utbildningsbakgrund.