Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Abstract
This study examined the influence of Guidance and Counseling services on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. The survey research design was adopted in the study. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study.
The population of the study consisted three thousand six hundred and one students (3601) senior secondary two (SS2) students. The sample size was 200 senior secondary two (SS2) students adopted using simple random sampling technique from four (4) public secondary schools.
The instrument used for gathering of the needed data for the study was a questionnaire entitled Guidance Dimension and Career Choice Questionnaire (GDCCQ). Data collected were analyzed using the chi-square statistics. The result was tested at 0.05 levels of significance.
The result of the study revealed that: there is a significant influence of educational guidance, vocational guidance and social-personal guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that effective guidance and counseling services unit should be established in secondary schools with qualified counselors to help students handle educational, vocational and personal-social counseling services for students.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the 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 occupied by a person throughout his/her lifetime.
In a nutshell, career is the totality of work one does in his life time and is person’s centred. It is of utmost importance to every individual as he or she prepares for the future. Career choice is something very hard to decide, especially as his life will depend on it.
Harry, (2013) indicated that, career is the totality of experience through which one learns about and prepares to engage in work as part of his way of living. 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 quota to the development of the country.
Similarly, Ipaye (2010) asserted that there is need to discuss with one’s peer school counsellors, parents and teachers on the need to choose a life span work as “career convention” or “career conference”. However, career convention according to him is an instrument of career information.
This occurs for a number of reasons, which includes: to stimulate career thinking and widen occupational horizon; to focus attention on particular jobs in order to help an individual crystallizes his preference; and to create a situation in which parents can on one hand meet employers and discuss the opportunities they offer and on the other hand meet the career teachers or career officers with whom they can exchange views.
The effect of guidance on choice of career is both negative and positive this is due to: security factors; no usual hazards to health; assured steady income; certainty of continued employment; career or occupational satisfaction; prestige; and social rewards. To increase students interest and ability to use his hands and brains, parents, must be involved to give desired assistance/guidance to the students.
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
An investigation on parental influence on career choice has revealed that parents who interact with their children at home in a variety of ways shows interest in what they do or say tend to encourage their children towards better results on certain subjects in school. On the other hand, children whose parents show little or no attitude or attention to their studies at home, do not motivate and encourage better academic performance.
Career choice has become one of the most difficult decisions in the life of students. Thus career choice is capable of determining and individual’s social status, income and character, his lifestyle and so on. Therefore, there is need to counsel students to become vital because students’ years are marked by the development of the feeling of independence, self-reliance and self-esteem vocational assistance and occupational information from parents.
The benefits accompanying parental influence on career choice of their children cannot be over-emphasized, this is because it enables students’ combines’ subject that will lead then to fulfill their career potentialities such as personality traits, interest, aptitude and their abilities.
Moreover, career choice has influence the decisions in the life of students. The career choice of the students make the students to see social studies as an art, social science or commercial subject which is mainly for the students who are going to the field of social sciences and it is capable of determining and individual’s students’ participation in class, character and the lifestyle.
Consequently, the need to counsel students become vital because students’ years are marked by the development of the feeling of independence, self-reliance and self-esteem vocational assistance and occupational information from teachers, parents and counselors.
Guidance can positively influence the attainment of one’s career. Prelovsky (2012) says that career guidance and counseling is designed to help individuals attain their career.
Professional orientations and career guidance represent organized systems of social and professional work on providing continuing help to the individual for the entire duration of his career development, in free choice of direction and orientation, in education and professional activity with the goal of achieving a professional identity, in line with personal traits and the labour market demand for specific occupations.
Such services may be found in schools, universities and colleges or training institutions, in public employment service, in workplaces, in voluntary community or in the private sector. Kolo (2002) opines that career counseling deals with problems related to the world of work. Problems in these areas could arise from difficulty in making a decision as to what job to go into, adjusting to the work demands after employment in vocational counseling.
Career guidance makes it possible for an individual to see and explore his or her unlimited endowed options. it is an undeniable fact that the major service areas of guidance are, educational guidance which assists students in their choices of career, vocational guidance which assists the individual to choose and prepare for an occupation that is compatible with his interests and aptitudes, and personal and social guidance which assists the individual to behave appropriately in relation to other members of the society (Eremie, 2018).
According to Orewere, (2012), for guidance to be effective, there must be a series of programmed activities to help students’ develop a positive attitude towards it. This enables students with information and guidance with regards to personal, academic and career option. Hence, guidance and counseling play a vital role in the career choice of the students.
It is pertinent to investigate whether the provision of these services could influence the choice of career among secondary school students. This then formed the background to the present study which aimed at investigating the Guidance dimensions and career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
1.2 Statement of the Problem
A number of factors influence the setting of career goals and aspirations by students such factors include interest, aptitude, and reward level of responsibility, social needs and status ego satisfaction. Parents who had prestigious careers in mind discouraged the offering of non-prestigious careers by their children.
This is done without regard to the fact that an individual is endowed with certain potential, aptitudes and interest for career choice. Furthermore, parents sometimes force their children too much by getting them fulfill some lost grounds where the parents failed to achieve their aims and ambitions or make their offering contribution to certain societal needs and goals.
Owning to the complex nature of Nigerian society, the counseling programme provided by parents at home to their children has assumed a wider role in the educational development of their children and in the present-day students’ selection of subjects is based on the process of helping individuals understand themselves which will lead to the better understanding of other aspects of their live.
Furthermore, since parental influence on career choice of their children influence the children selection of subjects in the senior secondary education. This therefore, motivated the researcher to carryout investigation on the Guidance dimension services and career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of Guidance and Counseling services on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
Specifically, the study intends to:
(i) Assess the influence of educational guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area;
(ii) Examine the influence of vocational guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students Nsit Ubium Local Government Area; and
(iii) Determine the influence of social-personal guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The outcome of this research will help educating and concomitantly serving as a guide to both parent and schools on the effect of guidance on the academic performance of students.
To the students: The result of the study will also help the students to create a good and cordial relationship with their teacher counselor. It will bring self-concept to the students that will help them understand himself/herself and regulate their behavior, interest toward their future career.
To school administrators: It also be of help to school administrators in assessing their contribution to guidance and counselling programme in schools as its influence career choice of senior secondary school students.
To educational policy makers: When guidance programme is well conceptualized by educational policy makers and implemented by the teacher counselor with the support of the school, the students will benefit by improving their vocational skills development.
To other researchers: This research will also serve as a resource base to other researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic. The findings will also enable the researcher made recommendations for further research on the issue of career prospects.
To Parents: It will enable the research give recommendations to the parents about their children’s response to the advice five to them.
To Government: 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.
1.5 Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide a study:
- To what extent does educational guidance influence career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area?
- To what extent does vocational guidance career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area?
- To what extent does social-personal guidance influence career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area?
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
1.6 Research Hypotheses
In order to guide the study, the following research hypotheses are stated to guide the study:
- There is no significant influence of educational guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
- There is no significant influence of vocational guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
- There is no significant influence of social-personal guidance on career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
1.7 Delimitation of the Study
This research work focuses on the influence of guidance dimensions (educational, vocational and social-personal guidance) on academic career choice of senior secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Also, the study was delimited to senior secondary two biology students in 2021/2022 academic session in selected public secondary schools in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
The researcher encountered some difficulties in obtaining information for the study such as time-frame and shortage of finance. The research was also limited due to the inability of the researcher to cover all the public secondary schools in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State as the title suggest.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Guidance Dimensions: This refers to certain areas in which guidance program can be instituted in school. This includes educational, vocational and social-personal guidance dimension.
Educational guidance dimension: This is an assistance given to students individually and through group techniques to help them function more effectively in their school progress.
Vocational guidance dimension: It is the process of helping the individual student to ascertain, accept, understand and apply the relevant facts about the occupational world which are ascertained through incidental and planned explanatory activities.
Social-personal guidance dimension: This is assistance given to students to help them solves problems related to psychological situations, atmosphere and etiquette of life in the family, and social, so that individuals strengthen protection and develop individuals in their own problems..
Career Choice: This is the selection of a vocation, usually on the basis of such factors as parental guidance, vocational guidance, identification with admired figures, trial or part-time jobs, training opportunities, personal interests, and ability tests.
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
Guidance and Counselling Services and Career Choice of Senior Secondary School Students
