Understanding the educational aspirations of ELT students for higher education

The present study examined the association between English Language Teaching (ELT) freshman student's educational aspirations and factors that influence these aspirations. A sample of 400 male (N=250) and female (N=150) ELT students from three international state universities in Ankara/Turkey was selected. The data for the study were collected through a questionnaire consisting of 30 items measuring ELT students' educational aspirations. A hierarchical multiple regression indicated that commitment to schooling, academic self-concept, family and educational environment were related significantly to educational aspirations and explained a significant proportion of the variance. The results suggest the high aspirations of students are mediated through strong academic self-concept, positive peer support, a commitment to schooling and high educational aspirations in the home while low educational aspirations may have different mediating influences in different students. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ALSC 2012