Determinants of students career choice in Tertiary Institutions in Kakamega County, Kenya: a case of the Sigalagala National Polytechnic

Abstract

Career choice involved selecting a line, which one can contribute to greatest use of his wellbeing, and capable of influencing achievement of organizational objectives. Despite the challenges associated with career choice among students in TVET institutions in Kenya, a few studies have been conducted to investigate the determinants that influence career choice among these students. The purpose of this study was to establish determinants of students ‘career choices in tertiary institutions in Kenya: A case of The Sigalagala National Polytechnic, Kakamega County. The study sought to achieve the following objectives: to assess the influence of gender on students' career choices at The Sigalagala National Polytechnic, to investigate the influence of market demand on students' career choices at The Sigalagala National Polytechnic, to examine the influence of peer pressure on students' career choices atThe Sigalagala National Polytechnic, To establish the influence of career counseling on career choice of students at The Sigalagala National Polytechnic and to assess the influence of cost on career choices of students at The Sigalagala National Polytechnic. The study is significant as Public service commission, private sector, curriculum developers and other development partners are to use it as reference in establishing determinants of career choice among students. The research design for this study was descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study was 3,022 students and teachers from the Sigalagala National Polytechnic. The sample size was obtained by use of 10% of the total population. Therefore, the sample size was 303 respondents. The research instruments were a five point likert scale questionnaires. To determine validity of the study Content validity was used where experts from the department went through the questionnaire and their views were incorporated. To test for reliability of research instruments a Pilot test was carried out on a sample of relevant population, but not on those that formed part of the final sample. Data was coded and analyzed by use of a software the statistical package for social sciences SPSS (22). Both qualitative and quantitative data was used. The results were analyzed in terms of means, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis and correlation and presented in tables for easy interpretation. The results showed a positive significant influence among the independent variables and dependent variable. Student gender, market demand, career counseling, peer pressure and cost influenced career choice. Also there was a positive correlation (r) .585 between determinants and career choice. The study therefore recommends that all the determinants of career choice should be looked at carefully by stakeholders as they really influence career choice especially cost which had the greatest relationship (r) .621 with career choice. The study suggest more research be conducted in the private college about the same topic.