PARENTAL FACTORS AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS OF STUDENTS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN GOMBE METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Abstract

Career Aspirations implies the way in which an individual expresses himself and relates to society through work. This study investigated the Relationship between Parental Factors and Career Aspirations of Students in Senior Secondary Schools in Gombe Metropolis, Nigeria. The study was guided by five research objectives, and five research hypotheses. The population of this study comprised all senior secondary school students within Gombe metropolis. The sample for this study was three hundred and six (306) SS II senior secondary school students. Correlational survey research design was adopted while simple random sampling technique was used in drawing the sample for this study. Two adapted instruments were used for this study namely: Students’ Career Aspirations Questionnaire and Socioeconomic Status Scale. The instruments were validated by experts and considered reliable for use with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of internal consistency of 0.739 for (SCAQ) and 0.913 for (SSS). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and independent sample t-test were used to test the hypotheses. The result of the study found out that there is no significant relationship between parents’ level of education, parents’ occupation and career aspirations of students’, but there is significant relationship between parents’ socioeconomic status and students’ career aspirations. The result of the study also reveals that there is significance difference between male and female students in terms of career aspirations but no significant difference exist between private and public schools in terms of career aspirations of students in senior secondary schools in Gombe metropolis, Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study the researcher recommended that parents should not force students to pursue careers similar to their own against their will. Government should intensify efforts to send trained Counsellors to secondary schools to provide vocational, educational and persona-social services to the students.