Parent/Guardian Visualization of Career and Academic Future of Seventh Graders Enrolled in Low‐Achieving Schools

These findings are from the first phase of a 5‐year longitudinal interpretive study that seeks an understanding of how students enrolled in academically low‐achieving schools located in economically disadvantaged areas socially construct their academic and career aspirations. This article describes the general perceptions that parents/guardians of 7th graders hold regarding the future of the students. The research revealed that although family support was evident, many students seemed to develop their ideas about their future in a nondirective environment in which parents/guardians frequently evoked a sense of regret about their own earlier decision making. Implications for practitioners and researchers are provided.