Las motivaciones de la elección de carrera por los estudiantes universitarios

Abstract

This part of the study analyzes the motives behind the students’ election of their university careers. We find evidences suggesting that there are three main motivational dimensions influencing the students’ choices: an instrumental dimension, a professional dimension and an expressive dimension. A particular combination of those motivational dimensions is present in each student, but the predominance of one or the other dimension is significantly correlated with some socio-demographic characteristics of the students as well as with the type of university career chosen by them. In fact, the three dimensions mentioned are unequally distributed according to variables such as expectations, type of career, age and gender. Thus, that motivational frame constrains the options and the results of further education students, and sheds light on the causes of some social inequalities apparent in this stage of education.