| dc.description.abstract | Post-secondary school career and training decisions
among Kenyan School Leavers has to be analyzed in the context
of the bigger problems of proper utilization 01' human resources,
the most important resource in developing countries.
Due to the rapid expansion in Secondary education and
the relatively low rates of growth in training and employment
opportunities, not all those who drop out of the education
system after fourth form are assured of a promising or desired
career. They have to make choices from a limited range of
career openings. In doing this the School Leavers are expected
to be guided by certain factors.
Little is however known about these factors since adequate
research has not been done to identify them. However, the
few studies that have been done suggest that factors influencing
school leavers' Career aspirations may be grouped into three
broad categories: social, economic and educational factors.
In this study we take the position that educational factors
or the education sytem play the dominant role in influencing
the school leavers' career aspirations. Therefore the schools
aspirations.
The present study aims-to improve our understanding of the
factors influencing school leavers' career and training
decisions. Emphasis Ls however given to the identification
of social and education factors., To achieve this goal we
The fieldwork was undertaken during the months of October
and November 1981.
The main findings of the study are that factors
are diverse. However, they may be organized into social,
economic and educational factors. The main social and
educational factors we identified were the source of
information about career opportunities, the sex of the school
leaver, the attitudes and judgments of school leavers'
parents, performance in the K.C.E. examination, the type of
secondary school attended n d the efficiency of institutional
guidance and counseling services.
Apart from the social factors the schools leavers'
of economics ia c i.o r s
most of which are beyond the control of the sctool. Therefore,
while the schools -could be used to help school leavers make
realistic career decisions a policy package which focuses
on a reexamine.na t Lon of the present educations c I system but
which totally ignores the demand side of the labor market
would achieve little in terms of developing the type of
manpower resurrect to achieve the development goals of the
economy_ | en |
