Influence of career choice among secondary school students in Nigeria
Statement of the Problem
Nigeria is rapidly developing her technological education, which has made the society more complex than it was in the past. The number of occupation has increased greatly and also there are many careers within one occupation. For instance, farming which was a simple occupation some years ago is now a very complex occupation within many careers to choose from these included poultry, farming vegetable farming, e.t.c the implication of this is specialization. This is why the family, peer group, school environment and even the larger society influence the decision any student might make in choosing a life career. This constitutes a problem as students often make wrong choice.
It has been observed that most secondary school students in Epe local government are faced with the problem of choosing a career. This is due to mainly the lack of guidance and counseling services in the schools. They make choice on their own depending on the subject that is being offered and taught in school.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is to investigate, identify and examine the determinant of career choice among secondary school students in Epe local government area of Lagos state
At the end of this study, the researcher would be able to determine the extent of the problems and proffer suggestions that will help the students in making valuable and meaningful choice of career rather than making a wrong choice determined outside their interest, capability and talent.
To identify the influence of home background on career choice among secondary school student
Then also, the researcher will be able to examine the effect of students learning outcome on the choice of career among secondary school students
Significance of the Study
This study will facilitate the act of making choice among many opportunities available, since it is aimed at looking at the problems the secondary school students face in making their choice of career.
The result of this study will give an educationist an insight into the problem and also help counselors in guiding students to make a more realistic occupational choice, limiting frustrations and withdrawals.
A student tends to learn and accept information more from their teacher. Hence an uninformed teacher will tend to mislead or shy away from counselling the student with respect to career choice. This research seeks to help teachers to explore real career possibility of each student and guide them accordingly putting certain factors into cogniscience.
The findings will further assist the students in making the rightful choice of career and also help those students to lay good foundations for themselves in their field of interest, ability and talent that will invariably develop the child physically, intellectually and emotionally to become useful to him/her and the society at large.
The findings of this study will serve as reference material for students of education, the reading public and those who wishes to conduct further research in this area
Teachers will guide and counsel student from their own perspective. If there are no laid down guideline by the school system. Hence this research seeks to help curriculum developer and government to understand the role of career choice to student and to help inculcate it in the curriculum of the school. This will in turn help the student explore the career opportunities available and make rational choice of career.
Research Questions
In an attempt to find the solution to the problem above, the following research questions were postulated for study.
- Do the students’ aptitude, ability and interest determine their choice of career?
- Can peers and associates influence students’ choice of career?
- Does Guidance and counseling in schools determine students’ choice of career?
- Can the subjects studied in schools determine the students’ choice of career?
Scope of the Study
This study was designed to examine the determinants of career choice among senior secondary school students in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos state with special focus on public secondary schools. It was not possible to use all the public secondary school in Epe Local Government but for the minimum resources available and time factor, the area of the study of this project is limited to four (4) senior secondary schools under Epe Local Government Area in Lagos state in which thirty (30) students were randomly selected from each of the schools and was used for the research.
Definitions of Terms
- Career: This means the choice of occupation.
- Secondary school Students: in this study, it refers to individuals who are officially admitted and registered in the secondary and non secondary school system as full time candidates.
- Occupational choice: This refers to psychological preference or desires the individual has regarding work status. It is the continuing process of occupational selection resulting in the eventual attainment of the occupational status.
- Peer group: This refers to age group of students. It means the association of, or the social relationship between people who fall within the same age range.
