Urban Bird Gardens Final Report - Cornell Lab of Ornithology ...

Careers in Science
Whil While parents t saw science i as a fine fi career for f their th i children, hild they th were most t concerned d with ith their th i
children’s economic future and supporting them in whatever career their children selected.
Parents generally saw science education
as important for their children when
asked as ed about it t spec specifically. ca y They ey reacted eacted
positively to the idea that their children
might choose science careers, because
they saw science as worthwhile.
Participants, however, did not see a
career in science being any more or
less valuable than a career in another
field.
What was of primary importance to
them was ensuring that their children
received a good education so they could
choose a career that would in turn
provide their children with a better
standard of living than they themselves
had. In other words, parents saw
formal education as a way to advance
one’s learning and potential job skills
and to become “prepared” for the
workforce.
One parent, for example, talked about
ttaking ki hi his son to t work k with ith him hi so that th t
he could see what physical labor
entailed, hoping that the experience
would motivate his son to stay in school
and get an education that would lead to
a good, middle-class job.
While wanting to see their children
succeed economically, parents also
expressed a strong desire to support
their children’s career choices rather
than steer them in a particular direction.
When probed about the prospect of their
children selecting a science-related
career, for example, many participants
qualified their comments by first stating
that if their children elected such a
career, they would be supportive. But if
they opted for a career in law or teaching,
or some other field, , they y would support pp
that as well. In other words, participating
parents saw their role as being
about making education a primary
objective for their children and actively
support their children’s career choices.
Despite the fact that participating
parents valued education highly, and
worked toward advancing their children’s
education and future prospects, our
discussions with them and with
community partners indicated that
barriers to education still exist for these
families.
Discussions revealed that because of
poor socio-economic status and
relatively low levels of education ,
parents often lacked the tools to assist
their children in planning and preparing
for the elementary, secondary, and
college courses co ses needed to pursue p s e higher highe
education (including science careers).
Additionally, parents participating in
It’s about what they want and what
they like. So I would want to
support them in whatever career
they choose.
You can’t force them to do one
thing. It’s up to them. As parents
our role is to guide them and
encourage them to study, to get an
education and then they y can pick p
the career they want.
If it’s his decision to do a career in
science then that is fine.
You can’t dictate for your kids what
career they choose. It has to be
something they like. If they wanted
to be a marine biologist or
something that would be their
choice.
I’d support by kids in whatever
[career] they want. If that’s a
science career, why not?
The environment is the future. A
career in something like
environmental science or even
technology, that’s the future. So a
career in that would be good. But
it’ it’s up to t them.
th
Garibay Group │ Urban Bird Gardens Front-end Evaluation │ Summer 2009 19