FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF CAREER AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
ABSTRACT
This study is aimed at identifying the factors affecting career choice among senior secondary schools students in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The instrument used for collection of data or information in this research is mainly the questionnaires. The questionnaires were distributed to four selected secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.To test the validity of the stated research questions from their respondents it was discovered that many of the option career choice education should be introduced in senior secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area. Some findings were also made in this research, which will be of great benefit to the students in the need to establish guidance and counselling facilities centres in senior secondary schools.In conclusion, the presence of guidance and counselling facilities centres in secondary schools will help to solve career choice problems facing the students.
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Career plays a very fundamental and significant role in the life of the individual not only because they determine the pattern of income but also because they affect the individual personality and concepts in life. Career therefore is a choose pursuit, life work or success in one’s profession, it is the sequence of major position occupied by a person throughout his lifetime. In a nutshell, career is the totality of work one does in his life time and are person concerned. It is therefore a positive thing for one to think as far as possible as it is enduring. Career choice is something very hard to enter especially as ones life will depend on it.
Her (1973) thus indicate that career is the totality of experience through which one learn about and prepare to engage in work as part of his way of living. PietropesaandSplete(1975) Stress career is an enjoying process that occurs over the life span and includes homes, schools and community. Every human being needs to do one job or the other to help contribute his quote to the development of the country.
However, career convention according to him is an instrument of career information. This occurs for a number of reasons, which includes:
1. To stimulate career thinking and widen occupational horizon.
2. To focus attention on particular jobs in order to help an individual crystallizes his preference.
3. To create a situation in which parents can on one hand meet employers and discuss the opportunities they offer and on the other hand meat the career teachers oar career officers with whom they can exchange views.
Factor that may influence choice of career includes.
– Socio-economic factors
– Personal or family factors
– Cultural factors, which include schools, peer group, age group.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In the course of choice of courses to read in the senior secondary schools and universities, a lot of influencing actions or decisions. These general determinates of their choices at this crucial. Parents influences, peer group, intellectual ability, financial background, goal of life, etc come into play with varying degrees of weight on them. T here are many problems which directly or indirectly influence the senior secondary school. Where they have been studying all the school subjects together with out any differentiation between care subject and optional subjects or between science and arts subjects, they are faced with choosing areas of specialization whether science or Arts. This is the beginning of their career choice problems. It becomes obvious that arts students can never again think of pursuing science, engineering courses or medicine in the universities, neither will science students think of pursuing courses in arts leading to bachelor of arts degree ni the universities. Thing start to all apart from there.
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The main purpose of this study is the attempt to find out the factors affecting the choice of career among students in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. It will also examine to what extent the factors affecting the choice of career will aid the students positively or at times negatively.
RESEARCH QUESTION
– What are the possible causes of factors affecting the choice of career among secondary school students in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State?
– To what extent has private sector actually affect the choice of career among secondary school students.
– What is actually the contribution of both private and public secondary school on the choice of career of secondary school students?
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The importance of this researcher work is to find to what extent the influences of the parent will affect the student choice of career and the attendance performance of students on the subject that would heard them successfully toward this occupation or job as a life span endeavour.
1. It will enable the research give recommendations to the parents about their children’s response to the advice five to them.
2. It will enable the researcher make concrete recommendations to the government about the choice of career among students especially now that the rate of unemployment is high.
3. It will enable the researcher to make recommendation to school administrators.
4. The findings will also enable the researcher made recommendations for further research on the issue of career prospects.
SCOPE OF STUDY
This research study is limited to the students in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. This research work cover four randomly selected secondary school in Oredo local government area of Edo State. Four of which are public and one is private.
1. Army day secondary school, Ikpoba Hill barracks
2. Immaculate Conception College
3. Idogbo Grammar School Idogbo
4. Queen Ede Secondary School, Ikpoba Hill
5. Henson demonstration Group of School, Iwogban Quarters.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
CAREER – A chosen pursuit or course of business activity or enterprise, especially one’s professional life or employment that offers advancement and honour.
AFFECT – To produce a change in somebody or something.
INFLUENCE– The power that somebody or something has a mark somebody or something behind a particular way of the influence a parents on choice of career of their children.
PROSPECT: The chances of being successful good job/employment/career prospect.
SCHOOL: The school is a place where children need to be educated. The process of learning in a school; the time during your life when you go to school.
EXAMINATION – A formal written spoken or practical test, especially at school or colleges to see how much you know about a subject or what you can do to take an exam (forma) to sit for an exam to pass so fat an exam.