ABSTRACT
This study investigated the influence of self-concept, career
maturity and parental attachment on career decision making self efficacy
(CDMSE) of senior secondary school students in Edo State. Five research
questions and five hypotheses guided the study. The study sample consisted of
720 students who were randomly sampled from the population of 36,012 SSII
students in senior public secondary schools in Edo State. A standardized
instrument namely: Self-concept, Career Maturity, Parental Attachment and CDMSE
scales were used to collect data. Data collected were analyzed using correlation
and multiple regression statistical techniques. The analysis showed, among
others; that self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment individually
and collectively, significantly predicted students’ career decision-making
self-efficacy (p<0.05), that gender has no influence on career
decision-making self-efficacy of students (p>0.05) and that age has no
influence on students’ career decision-making self-efficacy of students
(p>0.05). Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that
school counsellors should be mindful of the type of counselling services
rendered to students. Their career progammes and services should emphasize
non-gender approach in career education and development issues to enhance
students’ competences rather than conformity.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the
Study
Career
decisions are significant decisions that nobody should make a mistake about
since what a person does for a living affect him in the present as well as for
the rest of his life. According to Powell (2009) no other decision that an
individual makes has such major impact on economic and perhaps his social
well-being. The type of work or job an individual holds, to a large extent
determines the person’s quality of life. When an individual makes the wrong
career choice at the beginning, his life happiness might be jeopardized. This
is why secondary school students should be adequately informed about career
decision-making plan which will enable them make realistic career they will be
happy with in future. Elmer (2008) asserted that career decision making plan
should be taken seriously by secondary school students because it is a life
goal setting. Without such a plan, it is like making a journey to an unfamiliar
destination without a map.
However,
majority of secondary school students are faced with the task of identifying a
potential career. Zunker (2011) stated that majority of students are faced with
myriad of choices concerning their future career. Today, it would appear that
many Nigerian students do not bother or are not concerned about career decision
making plans that would enable them choose potential future career. This is
evidently glaring in the number of students who are victims of unrealistic career
choice. During group career counselling with students, the researcher had asked
some students to identify their future career choice. Many of them suggested
careers which they do not offer as subjects in school, and also not within their
interest and abilities. While others believed that self-concept, family
relationship and career experience has nothing to do with their career
decision-making plans.
In another occasion,
some students were asked what they would like to study in higher institutions
of learning. Many responded that any course was good enough for them. When they
were also asked which of the establishment they would like to work, majority responded
that they do not have any establishment of interest, and that job in any establishment
was good enough for them. Also, majority of students complained that their
parents had forced them to do certain subjects in which they have no interest
and ability. The researcher had also come across some applicants in Nigeria rejecting
jobs in areas where they had specialized qualifications. Imagine a qualified
medical doctor seeking for job in banks and not in health sectors. There are
cases where students already in higher institutions who are pursuing various
course of study, expressed their intention to pursue other courses different
from the course they were admitted into. The cases above are evidence that
majority of students are victims of inappropriate career choice. In other to
avoid or reduce this challenge, variables relating to career decision making
self-efficacy deserves exploration because of the potential they hold in
holistic understanding of students’ reality on career challenges.
Career decision
making has been defined by Makinde and Alao (1997) as the process in which a
student learns about himself, the world of work and the relationships between
the two before deciding on a particular occupational choice. From the researcher’s perspective, career
decision making is the ability of a student to understand his or her self,
environment and available career before deciding on a particular career. Danahue
(2006) stated that career decision making process involves six tools which are
vital issues in students’ career decision making plans. They are:
1.
engaging in
making a choice and knowing that one needs to make a decision;
2.
thinking about
it and identifying other relevant factors relating to personal or socio-cultural;
3.
understanding
one’s self and one’s opinion;
4.
identifying,
expanding and narrowing a list of possible options;
5.
deciding on a
study plan or occupation;
6.
acting or
implementing the plan and finally reflecting on decision made and knowing that
one has made a realistic career choice.
For
one to accomplish this process, he or she must have high level of
self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief of an individual to successfully
complete a given tasks and reach goals. Career decisions can be enhanced
through self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined by Bandura (2006) as individual’s
belief about his or her level of confidence to produce positive effects.
Self-efficacy is the judgment of how well one can execute courses of action
required to deal with prospective situations. Students who develop a strong
sense of self-efficacy are well equipped to educate themselves when they have
to rely on their own initiatives. In essence, a self assured individual perceives
situations and proffers solutions to any challenge he may encounter. Therefore,
career decision-making self-efficacy is a factor that determines students’
career development.
Crites
(2008) noted that career decision-making self-efficacy is the degree of an
individual’s belief that he or she can successfully complete specific task
required to make realistic career decisions. Low level of career decision
making self-efficacy may lead to inhibition of career decisions whereas, high
level of career decision making self-efficacy will lead to increase involvement
in career decision making plans. Students who possess low level of career
decisions making self-efficacy have low level of confidence which may lead to
low performance in their chosen career, while students with high level of CDMSE
will often succeed better in their chosen career.
There
are factors that may alter the career choice pattern of an individual. Otta
(2012) identified some of these factors as self-concept, intelligence, birth
order, parental attachment, vocational interest, career maturity, motivation,
parental social-economic background, work values, age and gender. In this
study, the researcher will be interested in relating three factors (self-concept,
career maturity and parental attachment) to career decision making self
efficacy of secondary school students.
Self-concept
is the perception an individual holds about himself which influences his or her
expectations. The person who has positive self-concept has high hopes
propelling force and energizing properties which enhance successive achievement
that life holds. Conversely, a person with negative self-concept runs readily
from career challenges. Many students have never thought of themselves as
individuals in terms of the sort of person they are, how they differ from
others, their needs, abilities, their source of satisfaction, interest and
ability. It is impossible for anyone to make a realistic choice of career if
his thought about himself as a person has not been crystallized. Super (1996) regards
occupational choice as a process of implementing self-concept and stresses the
importance of self-awareness in career decision making which helps a person to
determine what he can do and what he cannot do. Therefore, the development of
self concept, its confirmation and integration are crucial in determining the
state of an individual in career decision-making self efficacy.
Career
maturity is the readiness to deal with career decision making tasks appropriate
to an individual’s life stage (Barak, 2001). Career maturity is the level of an
individual in his or her career experience in terms of age, attitude,
biological, intellectual, psychological, social, economical and cultural
development. Career maturity is the ability of an individual to deal with
various career decisions that may come along one’s way in the course of his or
her life time. Creed (2001) asserted that students who are mature in their
career attitudes will have more success in their chosen career as they possess
more realistic expectation that will make them succeed in mastering the tasks
appropriate to various stages of career development.
Parental
attachment is the amount of trust students have in their relationship with
their parents. Parental attachment is the individual’s level of comfort,
security, feelings and emotional relationship with parents, caregivers and
guidance. The type of relationship a child has with his or her parents can
improve or inhibit his or her career decision-making self efficacy. Aluede
(2006) reported that, the child’s first place of contact with the world is his
family. As a result, the child’s parental attachment can either enhance or
limit career decision-making plans of the child. Individual parental attachment
whether secure or insecure has a substantial place in an individual’s career decision
making.
Therefore,
self concept, career maturity and
parental attachment in relation to career decision making self-efficacy is
functional as well as structural and it motivates or un-motivate the individual
to organize his perceptions of readiness to cope with the developmental tasks
with which he or she is confronted. Taylor (2005) considered these three
factors (self concept, career maturity and parental attachment) within the
context of career decision making, and concluded that the centrality of
self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment of an individual cannot
be fully understood unless the individual outcome of his or her potential
occupational decisions are developed. This can only be achieved through
exposure to adequate information, knowledge and appropriate career education
which is a prerequisite for successful, meaningful and rational career
decisions. It is against this background that this study sought to investigate
self-concept, career maturity, parental attachment as predictors of career
decision-making self-efficacy of public senior secondary school students in Edo
State.
Statement
of the Problem
The
Federal Government of Nigeria (FRN, 2013) envisioned education as an instrument
per excellence for effecting national development. Hence, Guidance and Counselling
was introduced into Nigerian Secondary school educational system. In spite of
this, majority of students do not have adequate knowledge and information about
career decision-making plan. And so, when it comes to the issue of career
choice, they make choices without considering the outcome and consequences .Thus,
many students make wrong and unrealistic career choices. As a practicing school
counsellor, the researcher’s worry is that many students experience impediments
to constructive career decisions making. This problem of career indecision
among secondary school students had lead to this study. This is evidently
glaring in the number of students who are victims of unrealistic choice of
career.
One of the
identified cases among others is when some students that are already in higher
institution of learning who are pursuing various courses of study, expressed
their intention to pursue other courses different from the course they were originally
admitted to. This problem is not only applicable to Nigerian students, but also
to students in the western world. This problem, among others, has been of
concern and research interest to many researchers in the western world. Among them
are Teber (2002) who examined self-concept and career development among college
students in Texas. His result indicated that, there was an association between
students self-concept and career development. Witto (2010) examined students
career maturity and parental attachment as predictors of career decision
making. His result indicated that career maturity and parental attachment
predicted career decision making of college students. And also both career
maturity and parental attachment were associated with students career planning
and career decision making.
Western research
evidence indicated that ability to make realistic career decision is associated
with one’s self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment. Could this
apply to Nigerian secondary school students, especially those in Edo State? In
Nigeria, Otta (2011) examined self-concept and career maturity as correlates of
career decision making self-efficacy of secondary school students in Oyo State.
He noted that “much research has not been done on the prediction of
self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment to career decision making
self-efficacy of secondary school students in Nigeria. Therefore, there is need
for researchers to continue to explore the frontiers of knowledge in this area.
These are gaps which this study intends to fill.
The worry of
this study therefore is to establish if self-concept, career maturity and
parental attachment predict career decision making self-efficacy of secondary
school students in Edo State.
Purpose of the
Study
The
overall aim of this study is to examine whether self-concept, career maturity
and parental attachment predict career decision-making self-efficacy of senior
secondary school students.
Specifically, the study intends to:
1.
determine the
relationship between self concept and career decision-making self-efficacy of
senior secondary school students in Edo State;
2.
determine the
relationship between career maturity and career decision-making self-efficacy
of senior secondary school students in Edo State;
3.
determine the
relationship between parental attachment and career decision-making
self-efficacy of senior secondary school students in Edo State;
4.
determine
whether the independent variables (self-concept, career maturity, parental
attachment) jointly predict career decision-making self-efficacy of senior
secondary school students in Edo State;
5.
determine
whether each of the variables (self-concept, career maturity, parental
attachment) independently predicts career decision-making self-efficacy of
senior secondary school students in Edo State;
6.
determine if
there are gender differences in career decision-making self-efficacy of senior
secondary school students in Edo State; and
7. determine
if there are age difference in career decision-making self-efficacy of senior
secondary school students in Edo State.
Research
Questions
To guide this
study, the following research questions were raised.
1.
Is there any
relationship between self-concept, career maturity, parental attachment and
career decision making self efficacy of senior secondary school students in Edo
State?
2.
Is there any joint
contribution of self concept, career maturity and parental attachment to career
decision making self efficacy of senior secondary school students in Edo State?
3.
Is there any relative
contribution of each of the independent variables (self concept, career
maturity and parental attachment) to career decision making self efficacy of
senior secondary school students in Edo State?
4.
Is there any
gender difference in career decision making self efficacy of senior secondary
school students in Edo State?
5.
Is there any age
difference in career decision making self efficacy of senior secondary school
students in Edo State?
Research
Hypotheses
The
following hypotheses were tested in this study at the .05 alpha level
1. There
is no significant relationship between self-concept, career maturity, parental
attachment and career decision making self efficacy of senior secondary school
students in Edo State.
2. There
is no significant joint contribution of self concept, career maturity and
parental attachment to career decision making self efficacy of senior secondary
school students in Edo State.
3. There
is no significant relative contribution of each of the independent variables of
(self concept, career maturity and parental attachment) to career decision
making self efficacy of senior secondary school students in Edo State.
4. There
is no significant difference between male and female students in career
decision making self efficacy.
5. There
is no significant difference among students aged 12-14 years, 15-17 years and 18
years+ in career decision making self efficacy.
Significance of
the Study
This study
sought to find out from Nigeria setting, self-concept, career maturity,
parental attachment as predictors of career decision making self efficacy
especially among senior secondary school students in Edo State. Therefore, the
results may generate useful information, knowledge and understanding of
self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment as well as their
relationship, with career decision making self efficacy. The findings will be
significant to school counsellors, students, teachers and researchers in the
area of Guidance and Counselling.
Findings will
benefit school counsellors in two ways. Firstly, the findings of self-concept,
career maturity, parental attachment as predictors of career decision making
self efficacy among secondary school students will be used by school counsellors
to have more insight into students career decision-making. This will enhance a
better and improved career counselling that will guarantee students realistic
career choice in future. Secondly, the findings of this study will give helpful
information to school counsellors on the level of the predictive variable like
self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment as they predict career
decision making self efficacy, so as to help students to maximally develop
their self-potentialities and motivate them into making rational career
decisions.
The findings
from this study will benefit students in two ways: firstly, the findings will
help secondary school students to develop independent thinking ability and to
look inwards for solutions to their career problems. Moreso, if they discover
that they can tap from their innate potentials and experience to solve career
problems on their own without stress. Understanding of this study will make
students with career decision-making problems, adjust and be able to ask for
help at the appropriate area. Secondly, understanding of this study will make
students benefit by exploring the world of work and choosing careers that match
or suit their personality types, without gender bias. This will help them perform
maximally in their choosen career to achieve their career goals and feel
fulfilled.
Since this study
is based on scientific research, it will give helpful information to teachers
while planning their class activity such as teaching and learning. This will
help them to develop individual educational plans for students based on their
individual differences in ability, attitude, experiences and personal
characteristics, so as to improve and help students boost their self
confidence, belief, maturity and experiences thereby helping them to succeed in
their studies and future career goals. The information from the study will also
help teachers to recognize students that have personal, educational and career
challenge in the class and recommend them for counselling. This will improve
the students’ well being and enhance teachers teaching and learning activities
in the class. Finally, this study will add knowledge to existing body of
literature where it will serve as a veritable reference material for future
researchers in the area of Guidance and Counselling.
Scope of the
Study
This study was
carried out in Edo State, one of the 36 states in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. The study focused on self-concept, career maturity and parental
attachment as predictors of career decision making self efficacy of secondary
school students in Edo State.
The study was
limited to students in public senior secondary schools in Edo State. The choice
of senior secondary school students was that, they are perceived to be
vocationally more matured. Population of this study was limited to SSII and
SSIII students only. SSI was eliminated because they lacked the experience of
career decision making. At this level, students are made to offer all the Subjects.
The choice of
SSII and SSIII students as target population was that, they have already made
their choice of career by choosing subjects they would like to offer in
external examinations, such as West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and
National Examination Council (NECO) among others. It is also at this level they
need to identify a viable potential career which they will be considering in
higher institution of learning. Therefore, indication of their career
decision-making self-efficacy will be effective. However, at the time of
collecting data SSIII students were not assessable because they had already
completed their West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) so they were not
available to respond to the questionnaire. Therefore, only SSII students were
around. So data were collected from SSII students. Therefore, generalization
was limited to the defined target population which involves SSII students in Edo
State.
In this study,
the factors that predict students’ career decision making self efficacy were
limited to self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment. Self concept
in this study covered areas such as personal data and social self-concept of
students, areas like academic self-concept of students was not covered. The reason
was that this aspect is not directly related to students personal self-concept.
Career maturity covers areas of human functioning. The study concentrated on
students’ career activities and career information. Area like emotional maturity
was not covered. This area is not directly related to career maturity.
In this study,
parental attachment covered the area of students’ emotional feelings and
interaction of relationship between students and parents. Family economic
status and family interpersonal conflicts are not covered. In this study,
career decision-making self-efficacy covered student area of career knowledge, interest
and information. Area of Students’ career performance was not covered in this
study.
Limitations of
the Study
The
focus of this study is on self-concept, career maturity and parental attachment
as predictors of career decision making self efficacy of secondary school
students in Edo State. The limitation of this study included. Firstly, only
public senior secondary schools in Edo State were used in the study while
private secondary schools were excluded. This posed an obvious limitation, as
the result of this study may not be generalized to include private school
students.
Secondly,
the exclusion of all other classes was a serious limitation, as only SS II
students were used in the study. The sample size of this study will not by any
means represent the entire students in the state. SS I and SS III as well as
the junior secondary school classes were omitted. The result will not likely be
the same if all categories of secondary school students were used. A note of
caution is therefore, needed to be exercised when generalizing the findings of
this study.
Operational
Definition of Terms
The
following terms are defined in the context in which they are used in this
study.
Self-concept: This refers to personal description and the way an
individual perceives, feels and think about him or herself. It is the ability
of an individual to perform a typical career goal.
Career
maturity: This refers to the
available career information, skills, knowledge, intellectual ability, attitude
and experiences possessed by individual student that increases the likelihood
of making realistic career decision.
Parental
attachment: This refers to parent
and child relationship. It is individual’s level of comfort, feeling, care and
emotional closeness between a child and his or her parents. This relationship
could be unique to a particular parent and a particular child.
Self-efficacy:
This is the belief in one’s own level
of confidence to complete a given tasks and reach goals.
Career
decision-making (CDM): This is a
process in which a student learns about himself, the available careers and the
relationship between the two before deciding on a particular career.
Career
decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE): This is the individual’s belief in his or her Level of confidence about whether he or she
can successfully engage in tasks associated with making decisions about his or
her career.
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