ABSTRACT
The study was designed to investigate the extent of relationship among Locus of Control, Parental Education and Career Choice of Students in F.C.E.T. Gusau, Zamfara State. The study used descriptive correlation design with a sample size of 239. Three set of questionnaires were used for data collection; these include adopted version of Rotter’s Locus of Control, Adapted version of Parental Educational Background Questionnaire and Adapted version of Students’ Career Choice Questionnaire. Reliability coefficients of the instruments were obtained in the following order: 0.85, 0.89 and 0.80. Spearman Correlation Coefficient and multiple regressions were used in testing the seven null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that Students’ Career choice is not significantly influenced by their Internal Locus of Control but rather influenced by external Locus of Control. Parent’s educational background is not a major predictor that influences Students’ career choice in F. C. E. (T.), Gusau. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that the Federal College of Education Technical Gusau should as a matter of urgency create a counselling unit for effective and functional career guidance and counselling for students. Finally, emphasis on vocational guidance should be laid down on students’ personality, aptitude and interest.
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CHAPTER ONE
I.NTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
In Nigeria and all over the world every youth is a potential leader of tomorrow. Such men need to be men of integrity. Guidance and counselling will provide a fertile ground for the production of men with good potentials. The secondary school is dumping ground of youths of varied social fertility, mental balance and capacity, different interests and values. Equality of educational opportunities can only be achieved by encouraging, recognizing and accepting individual differences among students which will serve as the foundation for each to plan and progress towards realistic educational, vocational, moral and mental goals (Mkpa, 2006).
The overall purpose of the school is to develop the potentials of the students as individuals. The alarming rate at which students graduate and are unable to secure a job, placement could be partly due to lack of adequate guidance on the choice of subject combination right from secondary school. Throughout the world, human beings always have problems and have been seeking ways of solving their problems in terms of assistance from other people. Some people like to emulate others in the field of job, wealth, fame, and attitudes (Nwachuku, 2005). For example in line with this assertion, many a times, fathers, mothers and guardians give pieces of advice to their sons, daughters on many cases, such pieces of advice are in areas of education, dressing, vocational choice, respect for elders and other socialization processes.
Many people including youths do not know what they should do when they plan to take career decision and some people do not put enough effort into making a career decision. Many people also seem to be doing uninteresting jobs. Some people change jobs because they have job dissatisfaction. It is important to understand that many
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people make career decisions with too little information about themselves and occupation. Poor career choices are made when people make decisions without having enough information about careers. Some people do not know the importance of career information. Many people do not know that they are dealing with a very hard problem when they are choosing their career. Thus, making a good career choice is not an easy task (Okon, 2001). To make a wise and intelligent choice therefore, an individual according to Okon should first understand himself / herself. Then the individual must use his/her knowledge to make an intelligent match between himself and an occupation or career. It is the contention of Hayes & Hopson (1987) that the degree of success an individual will achieve in finding an occupational role which suits his personality, interest and aptitudes will be determined, at least in part, by the information he possesses about himself and the information he possesses about the occupation. In essence, to choose a job is to choose a way of life and embark upon a path of personal development. The chosen career will gradually shape the person and his life style. The youths of this country will have to be systematically guided into selection of courses and career that will assist in the development of this country so as to meet manpower requirements at various skill levels so that the projected demand could be met in time.
The worthwhile role that people desire and anticipate to satisfy during their life time is career or job satisfaction. This is facilitated by the kind of career a person chooses to pursue in life. This means that the career people choose do have important function not only to the individual but also to the society. Each person is bound to spend a considerable part of his time and life in a career. In most cases success in life is attributed to how successful one is in his career. This explains why people need to give serious thought and action to make adequate plan and preparation while choosing a career (Ogunlade, 2008).