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The main objective of this paper is to examine the role of students' aspirations and expectations in affecting school achievement among 7th and 8th grade students in Qatar's schools. The study draws on data collected in Qatari schools from a randomly selected sample of 841 students and their parents. The findings indicate that students' educational aspirations have a stronger effect on students' school performance when compared to students' educational expectations, even when controlling for demographic factors, school attitude, and parental expectations. This finding directly contributes to the debate in the literature about the relative importance of aspirations and expectations, while also confirming what other studies have suggested- that the meaning and the way in which both aspirations and expectations operate is contextually relative. Context plays a significant role here, and consequently, leaves the debate over what matters more, aspirations or expectations, widely open.

The study aims to examine the formation of and interrelationship between career importance, decisiveness, and aspirations among students. The data used in the study came from the 'School experience, educational aspirations and scholastic achievement in Qatar' survey 2018-2020 (SEEASAP). A sample of 841 students aged 12–14 was used for the analysis. The results of this study showed that the future career orientation among young people tends to be fragmented and incoherent. Believing in the centrality of work and employment in one's life does not necessarily help young people become more certain about their future career or boost their career aspirations. The results also showed that career importance, decidedness and aspirations are shaped by different factors providing further evidence for the incoherence of young people's future career orientation in times of greater insecurity and instability. The theoretical implications and limitations of this study are further discussed throughout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]