CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 

Home is a place in which children learn to interpret realities (Wary and Passman, 1996) parents serve as significant interpreters to children for information about the world and children ability (Hall, Kelly, Hansen and Vulwein, 1996) home influence is an important force in preparing students for their role as workers. Young people form their attitude about work and career as a result of interaction with the home. Home background provides the basis on which a student’s career planning and decision making evolves. However, within each home, the level of involvement can very positively or negatively.  

Home background factor found to be associated with career choice includes parents socio-economic status (SES), their level of education and biogenetics factor such as physical size, gender, ability and temperament, Panic and Jepson (1992), in a study on adolescent vocational development reported that had the most effect on education plans and occupational aspiration was education. Mortime et al (1992) also reported that parents with post secondary education tend to pass along its importance in their children a finding reported by other studies. Montgomery (1992) votes that students talented in mathematics viewed their career choice as reflective on the interest that stem from early home influence and educational opportunities.

De Piddeo (1990) however, points out that the lower level of parents education can retard adolescents career choice. Being born to parents with limited education and income reduces the likelihood of going to college or achieving a professionally and occupational goals and essentially predetermined the child’s likely career choice. Home income is another aspect of home background that influences the career choice of a student. Mortimer et al (1992) one reason for this may be that home with limited economic resources may tend to direct children first the older children in the home giving less hope and encouragement to the younger children in the home. It is therefore understandable that the self efficacy of students with respect to career opportunities is linked to the economic support they can expect from their parents. Another home background factor found to be associated with career choice include the parents spiritual/health parents who love Jesus and want the best for their children will urge their children to pursue a career that will bring them joy in the future. Thus proverbs 22:6 admonished parents to pay attention to their children while the children in turn should prove themselves obedient (Ephesians 6:13). 

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM  

       The standard of education in Nigeria today is gradually falling thus leading to lots of arrangements amongst scholars civil servants, educational planners etc as to what is the immediate and remote causes of the failure and the factors hindering high standard of education, while we may blame governments, teachers, and children, the home which students comes from leave much to be desired. It is important to note that we cannot exonerate the home that a child came from when talking about the students choice of career in secondary school. Home background factors found to have influence the students choice of career is based on parents socio-economic status, parents educational level, parents love for Jesus and family size and parents temperament. 

RESEARCH QUESTION

       In order to deal with the influence of home background on the career choice of secondary school students the following questions were asked:

1. To what degree does the socio-economic status of parents influence the career choice of students in secondary school?
2. Is there any relationship between the level of education of parents and the career choice of students in secondary schools?
3. Does the size of a home have any influence on the choice of career of secondary school students?
4. Is there any relationship between living condition at home and choice of career of students?
5. To what extend does the ability and temperament of parents affect the choice of career of students?

Home is the bedrock of the child’s socialization processes. A child starts to learn even right from its mother womb and as such as it is born to this world (2 Timothy 2:15) as Gods creature, made in God’s image, the child does not learn in vacuum but rather is active by learning, in a society of humans who influence his guess such society embodies the home which the family belongs to and school source of western education. It is observed that the choice of career of students in secondary school can be denied by their parent’s socio-economic status, level of educational, family size of the parent ability.  It is therefore the purpose of this study to investigate the impact of home background on the choice of career of students in secondary schools.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY      

       Students succeed in school when certain factors are put in place or put under control, some of these includes ensuring that the child feeds well at home, get enough rest, does his home work has his work checked by both his teachers and parents, has his school materials, gets adequate encouragement from their parents, useful information should be given the child to guide futures generation of choice of career. In the light of the above, the students will assist parents to have insight into the behavior and needs of their children. The study intends to reveal the factors that impedes or enhance the choice of students in secondary schools.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

       This study is restricted to secondary schools in Esan Central local government area of Edo State. In the realization of similar condition facing most students in other secondary schools in Edo State the survey shall focus on students in their first year and final year of studies.

SCHOOLS SELECTED 

Usi-Mart Academy, Iki

Opoji Grammar School Eguare

Opoji Commercial Secondary School, Oki

DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Involvement: Willingness to show consideration and gentleness and also contribute to a child’s choice of career.
2. Temperament: The parent’s nature shown in the way they react to their children choice of career.
3. Potluck: A meal to which each quest brings food.
4. Missionary: Something sent to foreign land to teach people the goodness of Gods kingdom
5. Exonerate: We cannot say that the home is not responsible in a students choice of career.
6. Impede: Factors that delay or stop students in secondary school from choosing a career.
7. Biogenetic: The genes of the parents such as height, size, etc.
8. Admonish: The bible advice and urge parents seriously to pay attention to their children.
9. Detest: To dislike or hate something.
10. Socialization: The process of being socialized in been open to the world.