A study on occupational aspirations of higher secondary school students in selected schools of Villupuram District

We are living in the era of globalization and technological revolutions. The role of education is vital in the development of human capital because it is closely linked to a person‘s life chances, income and well being (Battle and Lewis, 2002). In order to occupy a leading role in world‘s economy, the education system of a country must produce students who can compete in global job market. In this ever-growing competitive world everyone desires a high level of achievement as the mark of one‘s performance. The whole system of education is centered on academic achievement of students, making it a fertile ground for research work. Learning takes places effectively only when proper and congenial environment is provided for children in classroom. Their learning environment plays an inherent role to mould the innate potentialities of the individual and school has always been regarded as an important factor in the child‘s education. Recent findings, that cognitive achievement is statistically important in determining workers productivity imply that the academic performance of students in school has important implications for economic growth (Boissiere et al., 1985; Kingdon, 1999). Student performance is also meant for making a difference locally, regionally, nationally and globally (Farooq et al., 2011). International surveys such as Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries have been focusing on relative ranking of countries on the basis of students‘ average performance in science, mathematics and reading. The academic performance of students is also used by policy makers to analyse the translation of education inputs into outputs (Aslam, 2003). The academic performance of students in school also affects their further educational attainment. It has been observed that most of the students having higher academic performance at 10th level examination prefer to join science stream at senior secondary level. This is because studying science have better opportunities for joining professional courses like engineering, medical, pharmacy, architecture etc.