Beyond the Textbook: How Curriculum and Community Prestige Shape Science-Track Students’ Medical Career Orientations in Jordan

This study examines how school science textbooks and societal prestige hierarchies jointly shape the orientation of Jordanian “scientific branch” secondary students toward medical fields (medicine, dentistry). Using a cross-sectional survey in government schools in Irbid (AY 2022–2023), we collected data from 105 science teachers (textbook influence) and 197 parents (major preferences). Two validated instruments were employed: a 24-item teacher questionnaire and a parental ranking survey of desirable university majors. Results indicate that science textbooks exert a low influence on channeling students toward medical domains, whereas community valuations strongly prioritize medicine and dentistry (M = 1.64, SD = 0.26). The findings suggest that career intentions are driven less by curricular content and more by extra-school status economies—parental expectations, cultural scripts of success, and perceived labor-market security. Educational implications include rebalancing guidance counseling to present diverse STEM pathways, enriching textbook narratives with multiple science careers beyond clinical medicine, and structured parent–school dialogue to mitigate prestige bias. For applied humanities, the study foregrounds how symbolic capital and hegemonic status discourses shape educational choice. Policy recommendations include integrating career education across grades, using alumni role models from non-medical STEM fields, and aligning admissions messaging to value societal needs beyond the medical track.