Influence of gender and home environment on educational aspirations of indian adolescents

Educational aspirations have been identified as a main strategy for widening educational participation in lifelong learning process. The present study explored the effect of gender and home environment on educational aspirations in a random sample of 200 adolescents studying in +1 class in the government and private schools located in Patiala district of Punjab. The data was collected with the help of educational aspirations scale and home environment inventory. The results of the t-test revealed significant gender differences in educational aspirations among adolescents. Further, it was found that educational aspirations among adolescents are negatively and significantly correlated with the negative dimensions of home environment viz. deprivation of privileges, rejection and permissiveness. However, the educational aspirations among adolescents are significantly and positively correlated with positive home environment dimensions of reward and nurturance. Implications of the results are discussed.