Parental Influence on Choice of Career among Secondary School Students in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State

Abstract

Career choice has become a complex task today as one not only has to undertake career planning but also has to do exhaustive career research before making a career choice based on evolving social-economic conditions. The study therefore investigated parental influence on choice of career among secondary students in the Ilorin Metropolis. The relative influence of variables such as parents’ level of education, parents’ occupation and family types were examined. A descriptive survey design approach was employed for the study. The population for the study comprised all students of secondary schools in the Ilorin Metropolis. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents who participated in the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire entitled “Parental influence on choice of career among secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis”. Content validity of the instrument was established and the reliability coefficient of 0.68 was obtained to ensure consistency of the instrument. Data analysis was done using percentage and frequency, mean and rank order analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA); all hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study revealed that parents’ encouragement to students on making good career decisions, parents informing students about specific careers, and parents’ encouragement to students on considering different education and career options were significant influences of parents’ choice of career among secondary students in the Ilorin Metropolis. The research hypotheses tested revealed that there were no significant differences in the parental influence on choice of career among secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis based on parents’ level of education, occupation and family type. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that school guidance counsellors should organize a meaningful career program that will help to educate both parents and students on the concept of career choice.