ABSTRACT
This study investigated the determinants of career choice
among secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of
Delta State.
Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire
from 120 respondents randomly selected from six (6) public secondary schools in
Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State, comprising Asaba, Okwe,
and Oko,
TABLE OF CONTENT
Content Pages
TITLE
PAGE . . . . . . . . i
APPROVAL
PAGE . . . . . . . ii
DEDICATION . . . . . . . . iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
. . . . . . iv
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . v
TABLE
OF CONTENT . . . . . . . vi
LIST
OF TABLES . . . . . . . . vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY . . . . 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM . . . . 5
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY . . . . . 5
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY . . . . 5
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS . . . . . . 6
1.6 DEFINITION
OF TERMS . . . . . 6
1.7 SCOPE
OF THE STUDY . . . . . 7
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE
REVIEW
2.1 CONCEPT OF CAREER . . . . . . 8
2.2 NEED FOR PARENTS’ GUIDANCE . . . . 9
2.3 STUDENTS’
ABILITY AND INTEREST . . . 10
2.4 NEED FOR GUIDANCE /COUNSELING IN SCHOOL . 15
2.5 SITUATION
ANALYSIS . . . . . 16
2.6 REVERSING
THE TREND . . . . . 16
2.7 FACTORS THAT DETERMINE CAREER CHOICE . 17
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE
3.1 DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . 23
3.2 STUDY POPULATION . . . . . . 23
3.3 SAMPLE SIZE AND SAMPLING PROCESS . . 23
3.4 INSTRUMENT
FOR DATA COLLECTION. . . 24
3.5 INSTRUMENT VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY . . 24
3.6 ADMINISTRATION OF THE INSTRUMENT. . . 25
3.7 DATA ANALYSIS AND TECHNIQUE . . . 25
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . 26
4.2 ANALYSIS OF DATA AND INTERPRETATION . 26
4.3 ANSWERING OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS . . 30
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS . . . . . 31
5.2 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY . . . . 31
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . 32
5.4 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . 33
5.5 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH . . 34
REFERENCES . . . . . . . 35
APPENDIX (QUESTIONNAIRE) . . . . 36
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE I: The students’ aptitude, ability and
interest determine their choice of career.
TABLE II: Teachers influence the students’
career choice
TABLE III: Peers
and associates influence student’s choice of career.
TABLE IV: Parents
influence students’ choice of career
TABLE V: Guidance
and Counseling in school determine students’ career choice
TABLE VI: The
subjects studied in schools determine the students’ career choice.
TABLE VII: The
value and prestige of an occupation influences the occupational choice of the
students.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The importance of education to the development of human
society cannot be overemphasized. Joseph Addison, writing as far back as 1711,
notes “what sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul”. This
is in consonance with the many years long statement of Epictetus (100 CE) that
“only the educated are free” (Awake! December 22, 2000).
Flowing from the above, the whole of human progress is now
being hinged on the ever-growing influence of good education. Today, good
education is seen as a basic need of man. Rather than viewing it as an
unachievable luxury, many perceive it as a right of both children and adults.
Studies have shown that quality education encourages individual participation,
expands peoples’ knowledge of the world around them, and provides them with
values that can transform their lives.
According to Kornblum (1994), education “is the process by
which a society transmits knowledge, values, norms and ideologies and in so
doing prepares the young people for adult roles; in other words, it transmits
the society’s culture to the next generation”. He opined that education is a
form of socialization that is carried out by institutions outside the family
such as schools, colleges, pre-schools and adult education centres. Each of
these, as Korublum rightly noted, is an educational institution which
encompasses a set of statuses and roles designed to carry out specific
education functions.
In most modern societies, education is provided as a social
service for the general population for the purpose of educating and providing
enlightenment for the people. Through education, skills are acquired and this
enables a country to develop.
More than ever before, education is gaining more prominence
in the affairs of Nigerians. It is seen
as a way of answering many questions and solving a myriad of problems. More
funds are being committed to education both by the government and private
citizens. As a result, there is a greater demand for probity and
accountability. Enlightened parents are now insisting on the maintenance of
standards and assurance of adequate measures of quality control to guarantee
reliability in the educational system. This reliability can be enhanced through
guidance and counseling towards a career choice which the child is good at.
Choice of career could be defined as selecting carefully
between alternatives. Choice of career is an occupational decision making.
Choice of career is very important in the life of any human being, especially
among the secondary school leavers. This is because; career choice is geared
towards specialization in the Sciences or Arts.
Career can be referred to as the number of occupations, jobs
and positions occupied throughout a person’s working life in a specific area
developed over a period of time with the aim of reaching its apex after making
invaluable contributions to the development of that choosing area at various
levels posts or positions. Career development is not static, but changes.
Career decision determines to a very large extent the entire life style of the
an individual, including: social status, value system, income, leisure time
activities, choice of friends, mental or physical health, etcetera. It
determines how satisfied or frustrated an individual will be in life.
A career is more than a job. lt is a way of life especially
when we consider an individual’s personal characteristics such as desires,
interest, needs, goals, abilities, etc, and the social and physical condition
of society.
A person who merely moves from one job to another simply because
of increasing salaries or fat pay packets has no career. On the other hand, a
person who begins his life as a Nurse in the Hospital and finally becomes a
Medical Doctor has a career. Therefore, an individual makes a career decision
when he decides to enter into one type of work such as: Medicine, Engineering,
etc, and progresses through it.
Careers produce professionals or experts. They do not make
room for a Jack of all trades, but master of none. Without Education there can
be no careers. Through Education, learners are exposed to subjects in the
Sciences and Arts.
These subjects are combined to make careers. Careers are
achieved through subject areas taught in schools.
Mathematics and English Language are needed in almost every
career. They are very important, and should not be feared, but be embraced
naturally. Most subjects are interwoven, and this makes learning flexible and
enjoyable.
A wide range of occupation is open to every person. The problem of choosing a career is mostly
experienced in developing countries of the world. In developed countries, the
child is free to pursue any course of his/her choice. The world choice and
career are linked together because one cannot pursue a career without choosing
a particular set of subjects in the senior secondary school leading to a
career.
A
career is said to cover the sequence of positions, jobs or occupations in the
life of an individual, that is his /her working life. It is the total pattern
of jobs held during a workers lifetime.
It can also be defined as the process
of dynamic change, which embraces both the pre-occupational and post retirement
years of the individual’s life in service.
The
layman could use the word career and occupation to mean the same thing.
Occupation could be the individual’s main source of earning a leaving that is
what he is engaged in at a particular time e.g. teaching, farming etc. One does
not just engage himself in any activity or occupation in the name of attaining
a goal, rather one has to choose certain subjects leading to pursuit of a
career in which he/she is good at. Thus in choosing a career, one should take
to that which he feels he is good at,
for his/her own benefit and that of the society at large.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It has been
observed that most secondary school students 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.
1.3
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of
this study is to investigate, identify and examine the determinants of career
choice among secondary school students in Oshimili local government area of
Delta state.
At the end of
this study, the researcher would be able to determined 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.
1.4
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.
The
findings of this study 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/herself and the society at large.
Lastly,
the findings of this study will serve as reference material for students of
education, the reading public and those who wish to conduct further research in
this area.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In an
attempt to find the solution to the problem above, the following research
questions were postulated for study.
(1)
Do
the students’ aptitude, ability and interest determine their choice of career?
(2)
Can
peers and associates influence students’ choice of career?
(3)
Does
Guidance and counseling in schools determine students’ choice of career?
(4)
Can
the subjects studied in schools determine the students’ choice of career?
1.6 DEFINITIONS
OF TERMS
1.
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.
2.
Adolescent: Those between the ages of 12-18years
of age.
3.
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.
4.
Career: This means the choice of occupation.
5.
Occupational Aspiration: This refers to aspiration for a high
or low prestige level of job.
6.
Talent: Any natural or special gift, aptitude
eminent ability short of genius.
1.7
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study was designed to examine the
determinants of careers choice among secondary school students in Oshimili
South Local Government Area of Delta State with special focus on public
secondary schools. It was not possible to use all the public secondary schools
in Oshimili South Local Government Area of the State, therefore six were
selected for this study. Twenty students which will be randomly selected from
each of the six schools are expected to be used for the research.
Click “DOWNLOAD NOW” below to get the complete Projects
FOR QUICK HELP CHAT WITH US NOW!
+(234) 0814 780 1594
Login To Comment