ASSESSMENT OF COUNSELOR AND PARENTS ROLE WITH CHOICE OF CAREER AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

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. This 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, which 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.

Parents serve as significant interpreters to children for information about the world and children’s ability Hall, Kelly, Hasen and Vulwein, (1996). Family is a place in which children learn to interpret realities Wary and Passman, (1996). Family influence is an important force in preparing students for their role as workers. Family background provided the basis on which student’s career planning and decision making evolves. However, within each family, the level of involvement can be very positive or negative. Family background factor found to be associated with career choice includes parents’ socio-economic status (SES), their level of education and biogenetics factors such as physical size, gender, ability and temperament.

Pamic and Tepson (1992), in a study on adolescent vocational development reported that the most effect on educational plans and occupational aspiration was education. Montgomery, (1992) asserts that students talented in mathematics viewed their career choice as reflective on the interest that stem from early family, influence and educational opportunities. De Piddeo (1990) however, points out that the lower level of parents’ education can retard adolescents career choice. Being bom to parents with limited educational and income reduces the likelihood of going to college or achieving professional and occupational goals and essentially predetermined the child likely career choice.

Family income is another aspect of family background that influences the career choice of a student. Mortimer, (1992) “The impact of family background on career choice”, one reason for this is that family with limited economic resources tends to direct children, the olderchildren in the family giving less hope and encouragement to the younger children in the family. It is therefore, understood that students in respect to career opportunities is linked to the economic support they can expect from their parents.

Generally, Hairston (2000) in “family role in career development”, says that parent’s career aspirations aid children in selecting occupational goals and this influence their knowledge of occupations and familiarize them with occupational roles and requirements. Lee (1984) in “family role in career”, also agrees that the occupational orientation of parents familiarize children with occupational roles, while the value orientation of parents provide the learning environment that motivates the aspirations of children.

It is generally known that in Nigeria, people set higher premium on some jobs such as, medicine, engineering, architecture, law and less on others such as teaching, carpentry, and farming. That is to say that some jobs are prestigious while some are mean. These influences are promulgated by the influence of various factors such as psychological, sociological, educational, economical and parental occupational levels.

Therefore, in Owerri Municipality where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to assess the Counselor and Parents Role with Choice of Career among Secondary School Students.

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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.

It is believed that parents exert a lot of influence on the career choice of students. It is also believed that parents with high paying income jobs and or high status jobs influence the career choice of students in secondary schools. Additionally, parents influence students’ career development/interest through childhood socialization. However, the contention of ibis work is that parents’ influence on career choice of students is often done without considering the ability of the students.

Similarly, students are sometimes influenced to take career without regard to their interest. In that regard, students could be coaxed to take up careers where they do not have interest or where they lack ability because such a career is either high paying or of high status. This study, is thus poised to investigate the validity of influence of parents’ income, academic attainment and gender socialization on the career choice of students.

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1.3 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to assess the Counselor and Parents Role with Choice of Career among Secondary School Students in Owerri Municipal. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to:

1. Ascertain the effects of parent’s academic attainment on the career choice of students.
2. Examine the effect of parent’s income on the career choice of students.
3. Determine the effect of parent’s gender socialization on the career choice of students.
4. Investigate the Parents Role with Choice of Career among Secondary School Students.

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1.4 Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

• To what degree does parents’ academic attainment influence students’ choice of career?
• To what extent does parents’ income affect career choice of students’?
• To what extent does parents’ gender socialization affect career choice of students’?
• 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?

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1.5 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

H0: There is no significant difference in the opinion of students on the extent to which educational counseling services influence career choice and academic achievement of secondary school students in Owerri Municipal

H1: There is significant difference in the opinion of students on the extent to which educational counseling services influence career choice and academic achievement of secondary school students in Owerri Municipal

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1.6 Significance of 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 / her 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.

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1.7 Scope of the Study

The study focuses on the assessment of Counselor and Parents Role with Choice of Career among Secondary School Students, which is limited to Owerri Municipal, in Imo State.

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1.8 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.9 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.

Talent: Any natural or special gift, aptitude eminent ability short of genius.