Predicting Academic Aspiration through Dispositional Hope, Instructional Leadership and School Type: Evidence from Multilevel Analysis

Academic aspirations among adolescents are a crucial factor in ensuring both their educational success and the sustainability of their professional development after schooling. However, no study could be found that examines the holistic effects of school-level variables such as instructional leadership and school type on high school students' academic aspiration, considering individual-level variables such as dispositional hope and demographic characteristics. This study examined how individual and school-level variables shape the academic aspirations of high school students. The research was conducted with 1398 students nested within 24 high schools across 5 different school types, in Uşak city center Aegean Region/Turkey and the data were analyzed using HLM. Multilevel analysis demonstrates that both student-level (%37) and school-level (%76) factors exert significant influence on academic aspiration. Dispositional hope, gender, parental education, instructional leadership, and school type are the key variables predicting academic aspiration. It is possible that findings suggesting some types of schools have a negative impact on students’ academic aspirations are related to educational inequality. On the other hand, school diversity also has the potential to enhance these goals by offering students alternative career opportunities. Recommendations were made for policymakers, school principals, and teachers based on the findings.