THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CAREER CHOICE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Study’s Background
For most people, career choice is a lifelong process of engaging in the work world by selecting among employment opportunities made available to them. Many factors influence each person who goes through the process, including their living environment, personal aptitudes, and educational attainment (Bandura and Pastorelli, 2001).
The career choice that adolescents make while in high school is a significant turning point in their lives. It is frequently viewed as a mere beginning to workplace readiness by family and community; however, this decision plays a significant role in establishing youth in a career path that both opens and closes opportunities (Akbulut, and Looney, 2009).
Choice is an emotional topic among social scientists because it is central to debates in a wide range of substantive areas. The relative importance of individual freedom of action (agency) and the constraints imposed by one’s position in society (structure) has been hotly debated, and there are few, if any, areas of study with the social sciences that do not raise questions about individual choice (Beyer, 2008).
In light of the foregoing, the scope and ambitions of the research documented in this text are quite modest. Its primary goal was to investigate decision-making behavior in a specific context, that of young people nearing the end of compulsory schooling in Nigeria (Courte and Bishop-Clark, 2009).
Choices are not made in a vacuum. The young person is influenced structurally by the social and cultural groups to which he or she belongs. As a result, social class, gender, and ethnicity will all play a role in shaping aspirations as they relate to the characteristics of the locality in which the young person lives.
These four factors (social class, gender, ethnicity, and location) have been shown to have the greatest influence on individual career paths. The Frolick, Chen, and Janz (2005) study is a well-known landmark in this field (though it has been criticized for using only the fathers’ occupation to determine a family’s social class).
Using historical accounts from over 1,200 structured interviews, Galpin, Sanders, Turner, and Venter (2003) demonstrated how multivariate statistical models can predict patterns of lifetime educational participation with an extremely high degree of accuracy (90+ percent) using only the information available at the end of an individual’s compulsory schooling.
Researchers have focused on the timing of decision making, the factors influencing choices, and the actors involved in the decision-making process. These are discussed further below, before decision-making models and particularly influential studies are examined.
Career selection is not something a student can decide on his or her own; there is a need to sanction accurately before mentoring the child to do so. The term “vocational” is interchangeable with “career,” “occupation,” and “profession.” They are both interchangeable.
Granger, Dick, Jacobson, and Van-Slyke (2007) define career as “the total composite of one’s activity throughout life.” Alika and Egbochuku (2009) define career as the sequence of occupations, jobs, and positions held throughout a person’s working life. This could be extended to both pre- and post-vocational positions. It is achieved through a process of career development, self-awareness, understanding of the current and future environment, and achieving maximum compatibility between the two elements. It is therefore not incorrect to say that one’s career is his life, and that the process by which it evolves is the process of career development.
Maximum compatibility between the two elements of self-understanding and the world of work can only be achieved through vocational counselling, which is the assistance provided by a counsellor or career master or mistress to another person, whether boy or girl, man or woman, in making effective use of his or her own resources and environment. Opportunities for self-understanding, planning, decision-making, and problem-solving in relation to his developmental needs, education, and vocational activities (Eckerman and Didow, 1988).
Every type of learning is motivated. Motivation is something within a person that causes them to act, either positively or negatively. Motivation can then be defined as an internal process that an individual maintains until a goal is achieved. Motivation influences how students learn and their attitudes toward a subject in a variety of ways. Tella (2003) observed that how the learner perceives the learning influences what and if learning occurs.
As a result, a person is more likely to be committed to something valuable than something that provides no satisfaction. Students are motivated when a teacher demonstrates competence and skill in something more valuable than something less valuable.
Motivation is the process of persuading people to move in the desired direction. Through reward systems and the provision of opportunities for learning and development, the organization as a whole can provide the context in which high levels of motivation can be achieved.
1.2 Problem Identification
A lack of awareness about one’s skills, values, and interests can cause difficulties when deciding on a career. While this is a common issue for high school students, it can affect anyone who is unsure of what he wants from a career. A person’s decision can be influenced by a lack of career aptitude tests and career counseling.
Another major issue that students in high school face when choosing a career is a lack of orientation and guidance from teachers in the school setting. Confusion over selecting a related course due to their inability to successfully scale through to the end can influence students’ career choices.
Again, peer pressure can lead to a secondary student making the wrong career choice. This will encourage students to imitate careers that may not be suitable for their personality type. Furthermore, a lack of proper parental guidance can have a negative impact on students’ secondary school career choices.
1.3 Study Objectives
The study investigates the influence of motivational factors on career choice in senior secondary school students. The study’s specific goals are as follows:
Examine the motivators that influence students’ career choices.
Determine the impact of a pressure group on career choice.
Investigate the roles of guidance and counseling in students’ career choices.
Investigate the issues surrounding secondary school students’ career choices.
1.4 Research Issues
The following research questions guide the study:
What are the motivating factors influencing students’ career choices?
What impact does peer pressure have on career choices?
What roles do guidance and counseling play in students’ career choices?
What are the issues with secondary school students’ career choices?
1.5 Research Proposal
For the study, the following hypothetical statement was created:
Ho: There is a significant relationship between motivational factors and secondary school students’ career choices.
H1: There is a significant relationship between motivational factors and secondary school students’ career choices.
1.6 Importance of the Research
The significance of the study is discussed further below.
School administrators may use the study’s findings to better understand the factors influencing students’ secondary school careers and, as a result, focus more on how to properly guide secondary school students in making career decisions.
The study will help head teachers and the Board of Governors, parents and teachers’ associations, members of the public, district education officers, and school district inspectors understand the impact of students’ career choices on their academic performance.
It will also allow secondary school principals to plan systematically for students’ guidance and counselling sessions. Other education stakeholders (parents, students, teachers, support staff, and donors) will use the study’s findings as a reference point for similar events.
1.6 Field of Study
The study investigates the primary factors motivating career choice among senior secondary school students in Surulere, Local Government Area, Lagos.
1.7 Definitions of Operations
This is a critical issue that necessitates greater contributions of excellence in doing or preparing a student’s future career choice.
Motivation is the process of persuading people to move in the desired direction.
Career: This term refers to the totality of one’s activities throughout one’s life.
Choice: This is the ability or right to select a variety from which to choose. Students are known to exist and function in complex and dynamic environments all over the world. The situation forces students to devise novel solutions to meet the changing needs of the time and to bridge the gap between goals and actual performance.
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THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CAREER CHOICE