Career Decision of Students: The Deciders

Aim: The study examined the deciders of public Senior High School students’ career. Three research questions and three hypotheses framed the study.

Study Design: Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. One Hundred and Ninety Six (196) students, 30 teachers, and 50 parents were selected to respond to self designed questionnaires using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The findings indicated that: Teachers do not significantly influence the career decision of students, Parental influence is a major determinant in the career decision of students, Peers influence the career decision of male and female students differently, The influence of peers on career decision of students does not vary on the basis of age and programme of study.

Conclusion: Peers and parents determine to a large extent the decisions that students make concerning the careers they may want to pursue, as such, it is recommended that: School heads should collaborate with counselling unit in schools to organise career workshops for students to help minimise the influence of stakeholders on students’ career decision. It can be inferred that the career aspirations of students can be influenced by peers mostly for female students. In the context of the larger conversation on peers, female students have been identified to be more susceptible.