Determinants of students' career choices in public secondary schools in Kakamega South
Abstract
Career choice is a complex decision for students since it determines the profession to
undertake. Every year in Kenya form four secondary school students make career choices
before sitting their final Kenya Secondary School Examination (K.C.S.E) however;
studies indicate, students enter into careers of subjects they never offered at secondary
level or where they performed poorly. Career choice has become a complex science with
the advent of information technology, the emergence of post industrial revolution and job
competition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of students'
career choice in public secondary schools in Kakamega South Sub-County, Kenya. The
following study objectives were used: to examine how socio-economic factors determine
the students' career choices; to establish how information technology determines the
students' career choices; to identify how personal factors influence the students' career
choices and to investigate how environmental factors determines students' career choices
in public secondary schools in Kakamega South Sub-County. The study was guided by
descriptive survey design and the conceptual framework. The data was collected using a
questionnaire and interview schedules. The target population consisted of 25 public
secondary schools, 287 teachers, 6,400 students, District Education Officer (DEO) and
Sub-County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (DQASO) in Kakamega South
Sub-County. Simple random sampling techniques was used to select 86 teachers, eight
schools and eight school principals while the DEO and DQASO were selected by
purposive sampling technique. On validity of the instruments, the researcher used content
validity while through pilot testing process was used to test reliability comparing with a
Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient of 0.7. A Cronbach Alpha Coefficient achieved was at
0.87. The study established that there was a positive and significant association between
socio economic factors and students' career choices but at varying degrees in Kakamega
South Sub-County. This means that various socio-economic factors like parental
education level, income, social status and cultural beliefs affect students' career choices
differently. The statistics show that there was positive and significant correlation between
information technology and career choice amongst the students in Kakamega South SubCounty.
Statistics revealed a marginally positive and significant association between
personal factors and students' career choices. This implied that students' personal factors
had weak influence on their career choices and therefore, could not make independent
career decisions, hence need for career teachers' help. Environmental factors had positive
and significant effect on students' career choices but at varying levels in Kakamega South
Sub- County. There were some factors that had significant influence on students' career
choices than others; namely students' career choices are influenced by advertisements
made as they had a higher effect on students' career choices while the variables on
professionals from the community influence students' career choice and role models at
home had the least significant effect on students' career choices. It was therefore,
concluded that professionals like the career teachers have successful educational career
change decision on students' career choices. The Ministry of Education and School
Management should keep pace with advancement ofInformation Technology by ensuring
provision of adequate networking tools and equipment to enhance students' career
choices. This will keep students and teachers abreast with necessary skills and
knowledge. Professionals should create awareness on the marketability of the various
courses offered so that students make informed decisions. The collected data was
ana lysed and the results presented in form of frequency tables. The findings of this study
may be useful to the Ministry of Education in ,developing programs and strategies that
may assist both parents and students in exploring a wide range of occupations.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Description
MA
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5964]