CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Career play a very fundamental and significant role in the life of the individual not only because they determine the pattern of income but also because they affect the individual personality and concepts in life, career therefore is a choose pursuit, life work or success in one’s profession occupied by a person throughout his/her lifetime. In a nutshell, career is the totality of work one does in his life time and is person centred it is of utmost importance to every individual as he or she prepares for the future.
Career choice is something very hard to decide, especially as his life will depend on it. Her (2003) indicated that, career is the totality of experience through which one learns about and prepares to engage in work as part of his way of living ‘ Splete (12001) Stress career is an enjoying process that occurs over the life span and includes homes, schools and community. Every human being needs to do one job or the other to help contribute his quote to the development of the country.
Ipaye (2000) refers to the need for one to discuss with one’s peer school counsellors, parents and teachers on the need to choose a life span work as “career convention” or “career conference”. However, career convention according to him is an instrument of career information. This occurs for a number of reasons, which includes:
To stimulate career thinking and widen occupational horizon. To focus attention on particular jobs in order to help an individual crystallizes his preference. To create a situation in which parents can on one hand meet employers and discuss the opportunities they offer and on the other hand meet the career teachers or career officers with whom they can exchange views.
Work experience during industrial training or those experiences acquired during vocational education also aids the students in choice of career. This is a techniques in which students do job under realistic conditions without payment this may help them choose a career to that effect.
James (2004) Observes that the influence home has on the child’s learning is the fundamental concepts of life. This cause and most of the habits and basic adjustment were established during pre-school years. The highlights the fact that home and parents occupy the most important position in the child’s education. It should be stressed that work experience is not an attempt to find job for the students but an attempt to widen the horizons of students and ease the ultimate transition from school to work. This is usually based on the information given to the school by the parents, such guidance and information are necessary because most school children are adolescents and are controlled by double standards, hypocrisy, truancy, materialism, dishonesty etc. .
The factor that may influence choice of career includes.
Socio-economic factors Personal or family factors Cultural factors, which include schools, peer group, age and work experience. The effect of parental influence on choice of career is both negative and positive this is due to: security factors No usual hazards to health Assured steady income Certainty of continued employment Career or occupational satisfaction Prestige Social rewards.
To increase students interest and ability to use his hands and brains, the parents, must be involved to give desired assistance/guidance to the students.