RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY BACKGROUND AND CAREER CHOICE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ETHIOPE WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY BACKGROUND AND CAREER CHOICE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ETHIOPE WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)

CHAPTER ONE

1.0    Introduction

1.1      Background of The Study

The problem of career choice has implications for national development. In every society, the quality of workers as well as their degree of job satisfaction contributes directly or indirectly to economic stability and the smooth running of the affairs of the nation. If workers are unable to derive satisfaction from their job, frustration sets in with accompanying decline in productivity and civil unrest due to the workers thwarted goals. Occupation according to Onyejiaku (1987) is a way of life. It moulds one’s character, determines one’s social status, income, style of life, choice of friends and, mental and physical health (Denga, 1968). This implies that the choice of occupation has a persuasive connection with one’s entire way of life. Generally, it is believed that the primary motive behind the pursuit of various occupations is the fundamental human need to ‘make ends meet’, to satisfy needs. While this has some truth in it, the contemporary society with its dynamic and sophisticated social and economic systems have taken the problem of occupational choice a step or two further by making it both complex and intriguing. On the other hand, many are the variables that operate to decide which occupation an individual chooses. Practically, every effort put forth to decide an occupation translates, in the light of significant factors, to an effort to limit oneself from entering into a wide array of careers. In other words, occupational choices made imply foregoing several alternatives. A number of these factors tend to impact more strongly than others. A universal hierarchy of these factors in order of extent of influence eludes us because, at least, no two individuals are the same. What may significantly influence the occupational preference of one person may have less significance for another. However, while it is difficult to determine the relative potency of these variables, it is true that there is some form of interaction among them where one modifies the other. While some of these variables are psychologically and biologically rooted, others have socio-economic undertones. Still, it is not uncommon for individuals to get into an occupation by accident or chance (Onyejiaku, 2001).

This research delves deeply into the influence of sociological factors on career choice. Specifically, it picks on the relationship between family background and career chocie among secondary school students in ethiope west local government area of Delta statea. Of all the socio-economic forces shaping the career pattern of an individual, the family unit has ever been among the most influential. Being the first agent of socialization, it exerts the earliest influence on the psycho-social life of the child, thus making its role very critical.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY BACKGROUND AND CAREER CHOICE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ETHIOPE WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)