TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Statement of the Problem
Research Questions
Hypotheses
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the
Study
Scope and Delimitation
of the Study
Operational Definition
of Terms
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF
RELATED LITERATURE
The Theoretical
Framework
Concept of Career
Preference
Factors Influencing
Career Preference
Influence of Parents
Educational Attainment
Parents Occupational
Status
Empirical Studies
Summary of Reviewed
Related Literature
CHAPTER THREE:
METHODOLOGY
Design of the Study
Population
Sample and Sampling
Procedure
Research Instrument
Validity of the
Instrument
Reliability of the
Instrument
Administration of
Instrument
Method of Data Analysis
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure I:
Influence of parents occupational status
LIST OF TABLES
Table I: Theoretical
Frame Work of the Study
APPENDICES
Appendix I: Parents
educational attainment and parent’s occupational status on career preference
questionnaire (PESPOCCP)
Questionnaire
Appendix 2: Evidence of
Validity
Appendix 3: Evidence of
Reliability
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
In this era of unemployment, choosing the right career by young adolescents
will pave way for employment opportunities for him or her in future. career
preference of the young adolescent has become an area of interest because
educational planners have become aware of the dangers and frustrations suffered
by some adolescents who find themselves in wrong career selection (Alika & Egbochukwu,
2008). According to Agboola (2013), career selection is one of many important
choices students will make in determining future plans. This decision might
affect them throughout their lives. The essence of who the student is, will
revolve around what he or she wants to do with his/her life-long work.
At adolescence stage people make their career related decisions which could
have impact and consequences on the individuals vocational future,
psychological well-being and even health. The skills needed to make appropriate
career decisions are very central to the psychological adjustment of the
adolescent. While some adolescents do this with ease, others may have
difficulties in making appropriate choices. (Scott, Repucci, and Woodlard, 1995).
Career is a chosen pursuit, a life of work or success in a profession occupied
by a person throughout his/her lifetime. In other words, career is the totality
of work one does in his life time. (Ipaye, 2000). Career plays a very
fundamental and significant role in the life of the individual not only because
it determines the pattern of income but also affects the individual’s
personality and concepts in life. A Career is the sequence of occupation in
which one engages in. Some persons may retain or remain in the same occupation
through their life span while others may have a series of life occupations.
(Egbochuku, 2008). A career could also be defined as the sum total of
life experience including paid or unpaid work, community, volunteer and family
activities. Kinanee (2004). Therefore, career can be seen as a product of
career preference. Career preference may be defined as the aspect or types of
work that people show more interest in and will most likely improves in its,
that is work people like doing or like to do; for example, some might prefer to
be self-employed rather than work in an office. Egbochuku (2008) believes that
the career a person prefers is an expression of the individual’s personality.
In the sense that, the choice of career one prefers determines to a large
extent, how time will be spent, who will be chosen as friends, what attitudes
and values will be adopted, where one will reside and what pattern of family
living will be adopted.
In Nigeria, many youths go into unsuitable careers due to ignorance,
inexperience, peer pressure, parents and teachers influence and they may also
prefer the prestige attached to certain jobs without considering mental
abilities and personality traits. Salami, (2000). Consequently, many of them are
unsuited for their careers as they usually find themselves in a job where they
could not satisfy their needs. When this occurs, they are likely to become
frustrated and constitute nuisance to themselves and the society. Such
individuals are not likely to contribute meaningfully to the society and
ultimately become liability to the nation.
Alika and Osa-Edoh (2009) identified parental attitude, parental income, peer
pressure as factors influencing career choice. Student’s careers have equally
been studied with different frameworks. Many of them have focused on parents
education, occupation or home background (like family income, language or the
home activities of the family and work methods). Adeyemo, (2001). Studied
variables such as attitude, self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-concept or parents
support such as motivation of wards, parental attitudes towards education, the
aspiration of parents amidst these factors presumed to have relationship with
career preference. Therefore, it becomes necessary to determine which of the
factors that could relate with students career preference and of interest to
the researcher is parental educational attainment and occupational status.
Parental educational attainment could be a factor that can influence students
career preference. Educational attainment of parents refers to the
qualification of an individual, that is, level of education acquired by an
individual for example, non-formal education, primary or secondary school
certificate, Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and National Diploma (ND),
Higher National Diploma (HND) Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Master of Science
(M.Sc), Masters in Education (M.Ed) and P.hD with a higher level of education
parents are more likely to function as a teacher in the home, and provide a
balance emotional stability as well as stimulating environment. This implies
that the educational background of parents could influence how they structure
their home environment and their interaction with their children in promoting their
career preference. (Davis, 2005). The study of Alika and Audu (2011) revealed
that among the factors that affect career decision making and career
development, level of parents education is also significant. In other words,
adolescent from a well-educated and higher income family is expected to attain
more education and aspire to higher status occupation. This was supported by
Musgrave (2000), he opined that a child that comes from an educated home would
like to go into career of his/her family and by this, work actively in his/her
studies relating to parents occupational status.
Parent’s occupational
status is the social and professional position of parent’s occupation in
relation to others. In other words, it is the position or status of one’s
occupation when compared to other available occupation like the unskilled
occupation. Many adolescents enter into different occupation, which they
neither have aptitude nor capacity for. This might be due to the fact that
their parents want them to either inherit their vocation for maintaining their
status or live the life they would have loved to live (Egbochuku, 2008).
The study of Rothman, (2004) shows that the most important factors associated
with career preference of children appear to be occupational status which
determines their socio-economic status. Similarly, Otto (2000) said that
ninety-three percent of secondary school students in his study reported holding
similar occupations and values to their parents. This is significant because it
dispels the myth that children and adolescents tend to defy their parents’
values and expectations. Instead, it may be more accurate to say that children
are quick to adopt their parent’s occupations and values, perhaps without ever
exploring their own. This may be due to children’s natural desire to connect
with their parents (Poulter, 2006). As a result, they are likely to leave out
their career preferences and aspirations while adopting their parental values
and occupation especially if the society rates such occupations higher than the
others and are treated preferentially by others based on prestige and their
unique salary packages. This is the reason why many youths according to Watts
and Law (2012) choose career like law, engineering, medicine, banking because
most society has rated these group of careers high. This study therefore, seeks
to examine parent’s educational attainment and occupational status as they
relate to the adolescents career preference in Ovia North East Local Government
Area of Edo State.
Statement of the Problem
Career decisions tend to pose problem for students in the contemporary society,
since it determines the kind of profession that they intend to pursue in life.
That is why it is not uncommon for students to get into careers that are not
quite suitable to their abilities. Parental educational background on the other
hand, tends to be one of the most influential factor in students career
preference. More often than not, parents owing to level of education or
personal idea tend to put pressure on their wards into taking up family
occupations and other careers such as prestigious jobs e.g. Medicine,
Engineering, Law and so on, even when they do not possess requisite abilities.
Miller, (2000). The tendency may also be there for the children to identify with
their parents by taking up their occupations. Moreover, in the traditional
African society, there was tendency towards encouraging youths to enter the
profession owned by family in order to jealously guide the skill owned by their
parents. Kinanee, (2004). As a result of these pressure from parents, the
students may end up being dissatisfied, frustrated and unable to be effective
on the said job that parents had chosen for them. But, an individual who has
chosen career that he/she prefers may derive satisfaction and fulfillment in
life and therefore contribute meaningfully towards national development.
In addition to these, a wrong choice is a bane to planning in terms of
furthering education or technical training, which one is expected to undergo before
actually entering the occupation. It may lead to job insecurity; faulty
planning, can mar ones happiness for life and could cause occupational
maladjustment. This may also directly or indirectly lead to emotional
maladjustment. Secondary school students are likely to encounter conflicts with
their parents and crises in their choice of career, if they are not properly
guided before choosing their career. Lack of appropriate career information
made available to the adolescent and career guidance by parents, teachers and
counselors might lead to frustration and unhappy individuals. Therefore, there
is need to empirically investigate if parents educational attainment and
occupational status have any relationship with career preference of senior
secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area.
Research Questions
To guide this study, three (3) research questions were raised.
1. Is there any relationship between parents
educational attainment and career preference of senior secondary school
students in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
2. Is there any relationship between parent’s
occupational status and career preference of senior secondary school students
in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State?
3. Is there a relationship between sex and career
preference of senior secondary school students in Ovia North East Local
Government Area of Edo State.
Hypotheses
1. There will be no significant relationship
between parent’s educational attainment and career preference of secondary
school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
2. There will be no significant difference between
parents occupational status and career preference of secondary school students
in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
3. There will be no significant relationship
between sex of senior secondary school students in Ovia North East Local
Government Area of Edo State.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study is to determine how parents educational
attainment and occupation relate to students career preference in Ovia North
East Local Government Area of Edo State. Specifically, this study seeks to find
out if:
·
there will be
relationship between parents educational attainment and career preference of
secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo
State.
·
there will be a
relationship between parents occupational status and career preference of
secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
·
there will be
relationship between sex and career preference of students in Ovia North East
Local Government Area of Edo State.
Significance of the
Study
The Nigerian education
system is progressively becoming more and more complex. Studies have shown,
that Nigerian youths and school leavers are vocationally maladjusted. This
seems to suggest faulty vocational education system as school leavers are faced
with the problem of inability to relate education to employment opportunities
in the world of work. This problem is as a result of inadequate career
information and decision making.
Based on this, the
research work contains the researcher contributions that would be of help and
useful to education planners, authorities, parents, school teachers/educators,
guidance counselors and students in senior schools towards helping students to
improve on their career choice decision.
It is expected that the
result of this study will help the principals and teachers to embark on
vocational guidance and counselling programme in other to prepare her students
for entry into the world of work, transition from school to work or into t he
wider society.
It is also hoped that
this study will help the parents to always guide their children towards
choosing career congruent to their intellectual abilities. It will also give
students the opportunities of seeing their loopholes and knowing how to make
amendments in a career decision.
Scope and Delimitation
of the Study
The content scope of this study will cover investigation regarding how parents’
educational attainment and occupational status correlates students career
preference. The study will be delimited to selected Senior Secondary School II
in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
Operational Definition
of Terms
Career: An occupation or profession, especially one
requiring special training, followed as one’s life work.
Career Preference: Career preference is the career field which
one prefers or it is a job an individual shows more interest in.
Educational attainment
of parents: That refers to the qualification of the parent of an individuals.
Occupational
Status: this refers the
position of the parent in terms of occupation such as civil servant and so on.
Department | Education |
Project ID Code | EDU0093 |
Chapters | 5 Chapters |
No of Pages | 93 pages |
Reference | YES |
Format | Microsoft Word |
Price | ₦4000, $15 |
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Contact Us On | +2347043069458 |