Career Guidance, Self-Awareness and Occupational Preferences Among Senior Secondary School Students in Rivers State
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51699/cajssh.v7i3.1379Keywords:
Career Guidance, Self-Awareness, Occupational Preferences, Career Decision-Making, Secondary School Students, Rivers StateAbstract
This study examines the relationship between career guidance, self-awareness, and occupational preferences among senior secondary school students in Rivers State, Nigeria. A descriptive correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of 38,420 Senior Secondary School II students in public secondary schools in Rivers State, while a sample size of 395 students was selected using Taro Yamane's formula and multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Career Guidance, Self-Awareness and Occupational Preference Questionnaire (CGSAOPQ). The instrument was validated by experts in Guidance and Counselling and Measurement and Evaluation, while its reliability was established using Cronbach's Alpha with coefficients of 0.81, 0.79, and 0.83 for career guidance, self-awareness, and occupational preferences respectively. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant relationship between career guidance and occupational preferences among senior secondary school students. The results also showed a significant relationship between self-awareness and occupational preferences. In addition, career guidance and self-awareness jointly showed a significant relationship with students' occupational preferences. Based on these findings, the study concluded that career guidance and self-awareness play significant roles in shaping students' occupational preferences. The study recommended strengthening career guidance programmes and promoting self-awareness activities in secondary schools to assist students in making informed career decisions.
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