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ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION FACTORS AS A CORRELATE OF STUDENTS CAREER CHIOCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS IN AKOKO SOUTH WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ONDO STATE

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
In any contemporary society, the heart of the long process of preparing young people for life and work is centered in the educational system (Gesinde, 1977). But it has been observed that in Nigeria generally parental influence and vicarious experiences within one’s community contributes much to this preparatory process. Though the traditional Nigerian society had the problem of building the youth up, yet most adolescents just pick career based on mere likeness for such jobs simply because it entails the wearing of a uniform or otherwise or may be because their parents or a significant other in their lives are involved in such career. They forget the fact that such jobs might have some basic subject requirement.
Decision making concerning appropriate choice of career or occupation to take, is the most critical problem area facing students in secondary schools system and young school leavers.  Research findings have revealed that sources of difficulty said to confront students and school leavers in particular include lack of information, awareness and orientation. Lack of knowledge, training and opportunities about the activities in different careers or vocation is the most problem area confronting students in senior secondary schools.  This critical problem led to lack of understanding of job seeking strategies among school leavers (Oye, Obi, Mohd and Gwadabawa, 2012).
Career development is regarded as a sequence of development  regarded as a sequence of developmental experiences which culminate not only in vocation choice but also in a lifelong career pattern as well (Oye, Obi, Mohd and Gwadabawa, 2012).  Career education is therefore the series of educational experiences given to the child from cradle to old age that enable him or her to make career decision.  It is not a one spot education but lifelong.  Thus, career education starts from the home where the child learns about different work skills that will influence his later career choice.  Also career awareness should start from the home where parents and guardians relate the daily life of the child to the work skills exhibited.
Career Choice as a developmental process spanning almost throughout a person’s life, is one of the most complex and important decision one has to make in one’s life time.  Career Choice in essence refers to the process whereby an individual makes up his mind in favour of a particular career or occupation at a given time after due considerations of other alternative careers.  This decision is made with the realization that the necessary demands or implications of entering into the career area. This is why a student needs to be thoroughly furnished with the relevant career information to enable the student to take Judicious Career decision.  Choosing a career is not a trial and error exercise.  It is deliberate effort made at once.  Choosing a career is like choosing a life partner in view of their implications for one’s  happiness or otherwise in future (Oye, Obi, Mohd & Gwadabawa, 2012).
It is not moving from one job to another, for example, it is not moving from hair dressing to typist, to a sales girl in a small factory, to a teacher in a private elementary school and finally to a petty trader.  Such a person has no career or occupation.  In contrast, the student who starts his life as a news vendor, later becomes a  campus correspondent, and much later becomes a manager of a publishing company has  made a profession or career. In fact one has made a career decision or choice when one decides to enter into one type of work such as Medicine, Engineering, Law, Politics, business and education and progresses through it as an occupation.  The problem being faced by students and others in choosing careers should be appreciated especially in view of the increasing number of work options and in view of the intricacies involved in the world of work today (Oye, Obi, Mohd & Gwadabawa, 2012).
The educational information available at each stage of development helps the child to make career choice at the end of the process.  This calls for proper guidance and counselling at schools in order to make students understand themselves and the world of work.  It is only a fool who chooses what he is ignorant of and what he is not sure of having self-fulfillment from it. In advanced nations of America and Europe, Career education has been given top priority.  So as to educate students while in school on the availability of different careers or vocations and their choice of selecting one.  Also in many developing countries especially in Nigeria, Careers education has been recognized as a must for national development.
It is necessary to note that the career development of children is influenced by the policy and economy situation of the country of the child.  For the policy at each stage emphasizes different things, for example the early 50s and 60s, any university qualification gets good jobs.  In the 70s and 80s teacher education was on top and every graduate went into teaching and in the 90s it was banking industries.  By the end of the century, particularly at this time, it is computer education and technological advancement (Arulmani & Arulmani 2004).
The need to resolve manpower problem and shortage of career choice occupation among students have also led to the Federal Government concern on national development  project in technology enacted in the National Policy on Education. (NPE, 2004).
Due to government’s decision on National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004) using education as the basis for the nations technological school subjects with only emphasis on Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  A new curricular was formulated with emphasis on science subject and science schools.   The new curricular which formed one basis of subjects to be read and taught in secondary schools are made of courses of vocation for students.
Following government’s emphasis on science education, the new 6:3:3:4 system of education, was introduced, which covered the different facets of school subjects and choice of career. As a result of this, different categories of schools were built, such as special science schools, Technical Schools, Colleges of Technologies, Polytechnics and universities of science and technologies to cater for the different career choices students have to make or take. Also different teachers were trained and employed for the scheme with the inclusion of guidance counsellors whose major duties in schools particularly in senior secondary school embraces all aspects of counselling- “Educational, Vocational and Social/Personal” (Biswala 1996).
In all, apart from government’s efforts to alleviating and strengthening this problem facing students in secondary schools in making career adjustments.  The question every rational mind is asking to day is what factors influence students choice of career and what are the remedies towards helping students from making wrong choice of career or profession. Observations made in the course of this study revealed that the problems being faced by students in making a career choice selection manifests as a result of unrealistic career aspiration, Lack of information, awareness and knowledge of existing careers. Students are said to select careers mainly because of the position, profits and prestige attached to such careers or jobs and not as a conscious assessment of the individual potentials, interest and ability to perform in such a given career or occupation advancement (Arulmani & Arulmani 2004).
Lack of motivation for adolescence has resulted to increase in unpleasant outcomes in the society. These include school dropouts, drug abuse, crimes, and even failure to secure jobs. Anastasi (1990) also adds that the task of educational guidance and counselling is to enable a student to adjust himself to his studies by improving his study attitude and removing subject matter difficulties.
When motivation is missing in schools, students’ adaptation becomes difficult thus leading to low performance, misbehavior and dropout. According to Odeke (1996), without parental and teachers guidance in secondary schools, many students loose direction and engage themselves in bad behaviors such as drug abuse and alcohol indulgence, missing classes, dropout and so on; as a result they lack both focus and direction resulting to total failure in life. In this regard, students need guidance and direction to study and choose career.
1.2    Statement of the Problem
It has been noted with sadness that most secondary school graduates do come up with the problem of course selection in higher institutions owing to lack of guidance in the selection of subjects at the secondary school level.
Another important point is the idea of parents blindly dictating careers to their children. They do this without studying the aptitude of the children thereby causing a lot of academic frustration for them. Omoegun & Buraimoh (2001) remarked that, “not only were the parents choosing academic courses for their children, they were choosing a whole way of life and standard for behaviour for them.” Occupational prestige is closely related to socio-economic status hence parents are often too involved in picking jobs for their children. Durosaro (1981) discovered that Nigerian adolescents are not left to take decisions on matters that affect their lives especially career. There is the need for a careful study of the factors motivating career choice in order to play them up to channelize pupil’s interest in areas where they are best suited.
 It seems that Nigerian school leavers are faced with the problem of unemployment in the world of work, in the fastly expanding technological advancement.  This problem coupled with economic uncertainties was brought by inadequate career information on the availability of jobs, lack of knowledge of what career to choose by the students, misguided career information by parents because most parents are ignorant of the existing careers. It was also observed that students experience in choosing a career is another problem confronting the students.  Another problem is that as a result of economic and social interest of students they overlook the advice of the professional counsellor in view for a career choice.  Also such problems as individual differences, social changes, government’s policy on education affects students’ choice of career and otherwise lead to unemployment of school leavers in the world of work.
Even though studies conducted by Ogungbemi and Ajayi (2009) had shown that adolescents think and plan their education in relation to their future vocational goals, experience revealed that lack of guidance at the time of selection often shatter the plans for them. Based on this background the study seek to investigated motivational factors influencing career choice of senior secondary school students in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Purpose of the Study
This study is an attempt to examine the relevance of the subjects selected by students at the secondary level for the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) in relation to their career aspirations with a view suggesting ways of assisting teachers, parents and school counsellors in guiding the Nigerian students in their subject selection. The study also aimed at examining the influence of both age and sex on career choice of the students. It is hoped that the outcome of the study will serve useful purpose to teachers and school counsellors, in particular, in their operation in secondary schools. The objective of the study includes the following
1.    To determine the achievement motivational factors that influence students choice of career in secondary school in Akoko South West  Local Government Area of Ondo State
2.    To investigate the importance of taking career decision  among secondary school students in Akoko South West  Local Government Area of Ondo State
3.    To find solutions in solving the problems of career choice decision among secondary school students in Akoko South West  Local Government Area of Ondo State

Research Questions
In carrying out this study, the following are the research questions for the study
1.    Is there any influence of Achievement motivation on career choice of secondary school students?
2.    Is there any significant difference between the perception of male and female students on career choice?
3.    Is there any significant relationship between the students’ cognitive ability and choice of career among senior secondary school students?
4.    Is there any significant difference between the perception of students of low socio-economic status and high socio-economic status on career choice among secondary school students?
Research Hypotheses
In carrying out this study, the following hypotheses were formulated:
1. Achievement motivation has no significant influence on career choice of secondary school students
2. There is no significant difference between the perception of male and female students on career choice
3. There is no significant relationship between the students cognitive ability and choice of career among senior secondary school students
4. There is no significant difference between the perception of students of low socio-economic status and high socio-economic status on career choice among secondary school students.
Significance of the Study
The importance of this study is that, the findings of this research would be of top most important to students, parent, teachers and the government. The findings may likely be applicable to other part of the state and also the country at large. The investigation will be an effective tool in the hands of guidance and counselling personnel's and also psychologist. It would also be relevant to teachers in order to help their students despite their problem. The study will also attempt to some extent suggested some hopeful advice and counselling to people who may like to apply them to their challenges to life situation.
The Nigerian education system is progressively becoming more and more complex.  But the catalogue of sources shows that Nigerian youths and school leavers are vocationally maladjusted.  This seems to suggest faulty vocational education system as school leavers are faced with the problem of inability to relate education to employment opportunities in the world of work.  This problem is as a result of inadequate career information and decision making.
Based on this, the research work contains the researchers contributions that would be of help and useful to education planners, authorities, parents, school teachers/educators, guidance counsellors and students in senior schools towards helping  students to improve on their career choice decision.  It will also give students the opportunities of seeing their loopholes and knowing how to make amendments in a career decision.
Delimitation of the Study
This study will be restricted in scope to some selected schools in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Below is the list of the sampled secondary schools selected.
i.    St. Patrick’s College Iwaro Oka
ii.    Community Comprehensive High School, Akungba Akoko.
iii.    Ansarudeen Grammar School Akungba
iv.    Apex Academy, Akungba Akoko
Definition of Terms
For clarity, the terms used in the study were clarified as follows:
Academic performance: It is the outcome of education — the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals.
Achievement Motivation: Achievement motivation is the demonstration of the belief that one’s behaviour is the result of something out of conscious
Adolescence: Adolescents as used in the study refer to male and female children whose ages range between 11 and 21 years. Osarenren (1996) said the adolescent is between childhood and adulthood.
Age group: a group of people having approximately the same age which provides an individual the opportunities for job experience and instructions leading to economic and social independence.
Career Choice: refers to the professions that are picked by the adolescents used in the study It can also be termed as the desire which one has for a relevant and accountable profession
Environment: The complex physical factors that make up our surroundings and in turn act upon us. This include the forces of family, political, social and economic issues that both typical and non- typical students may deal with on a day- to- day basis.
Motivation: Forces acting on or within a person causing initiation of behavior or what it is that moves us.
Opportunity: Those choices in one’s life which are exposed either in a subtle or obvious manner.
Peer group: A peer group is both a social group and a primary group of people who have similar interests (homophily), age, background, and social status
Personality: A characteristic way of thinking, feeling and behaving. The personality is the collection of impression in the appearance of the student’s body and the impressions believed to have been made on others, good or bad. One’s personality may embrace attitudes and opinions that affect the way we deal with interactions of people and, in particular to this study, the situations of choosing a career.
Quality of Life: The depth in the content of richness and fullness in our day- to- day existence. This includes observed and unobserved criteria that contribute to the fulfillment with our expectations and aspirations.
Socio- Economic Status: This can be stated also as the family background of people.
Students: In this study, it refers to those individual who are officially admitted and registered in the secondary and non- secondary school system as a full time candidates.
Teachers: this is also known as school teacher. A teacher is a person who provides education for students.
Vocation: The feeling of wanting to do special work to help others. The job which we do because we think we have a special fitness or ability to give service to other people.




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