A Study on Factors Influencing the Career Choices of Students in Senior High Schools in Ghana : The Case of SHS Students in the Abuakwa South Municipality
Bernard Adinkrah & Charles Fosu-Ayarkwah
Issue: Vol.1 No.1 May 2020 Article 4 pp. 29-38
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2020054 | Published online 29th May 2020.
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The issue of career selection plays an important role in the success of every individual. With the ascendency of youth unemployment in Ghana, this study seeks to investigate the career choices of students in Senior High Schools (SHS) in Ghana. The study focused on SHS students in the Abuakwa South Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Using a quantitative approach, questionnaires were distributed to 322 SHS students in four different schools in the area to gather data on how they plan on choosing future careers and the factors that influence their choices. The study also examined the temperament type self-concept theory and the impact on choosing a career. The findings of the study indicated that students consult all relevant persons including counsellors to enable them to choose their perceived careers. Also, factors such as personal ambitions in life, academic standards, the possibility of getting jobs after school and level of job security influenced the career choice of students. The study recommended that planning should be done by following the career planning process carefully. The process requires students to plan their careers by consulting all relevant persons including the counsellor.
Keywords: career choice, Senior High School (SHS), career determinants, academic standards.
D Asante, Determinants of career Preference and decision making of Technical Education Students. M.Phil Theses, University of Education, Winneba, (2010).Unpublished.
Arudo, T. O.. Peer counseling experience among selected Kenyen secondary schools. KAPA conference, 2nd – 4thSeptember (2008).
Bandura, A., Barabaranelli, C., Caprara, G.V. Pastorelli, C. Self-efficacy beliefs as chapers of children’s aspirations and career trajectories. (2001).Child Development, 72, 187-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00273
Brown, D., & Brooks, Linda et. al Career choice and development. San Francisco:Jossey Bass. (1990)
Crites, J. O., and Savickes, M. L. Career Maturity Inventry: Source Book. Clayton, NY Career ware (1995).
Diamini, M.P., Ngennya, S. S. and Diamini, B. M. Reason’s girls choose agriculture or other science and technology programmes in Swaziland. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 11(3) (2004): 69-77
Geurts, J. Van apleidingenfabrick tot loopbaancentram: Pleidooi voor cen integral herontwerp van het middle baar beroepsonderwijs. [From training factory to career centre: A pleading for integral redesign of vocational education]. Den Haag: Elsevier (2003).
Gysbers, N. C., & Henderson, P. Designing, implementing and managing comprehensive school guidance and counseling program. In C. A. Sink (Ed), Contemporary school counseling: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 151e188), Boston: Houghton Mifflin (2005).
Hall, S. The relationship between gender and career choice, 2010.Accessed September, 2019. www.ehow.com
Hewitt, J. Factors influencing career choice. (2010). Cited from www.ehow.com accessed on March 15,2020.
Hirschi, A. & Lage, D. The Relation of Secondary Students Career-Choice Readiness to a Six-Phase Model of career decision Making. Journal of Career Development. 34, (2007): 164 Accessed July 23, 2019. http://www.sagepub.com
Jarvis, P., & Keeley, E. S. From vocational decision making to career building: blueprint, real games and school counseling. Professional school counseling. 6, (2003).
Kerka, S. Career development, gender, race and class. Eric Clearing house on adult Career and Vocational Education Columbus, (2000).
Khami, M., Murtonmaa, H., and Jafarian, M. Motives and Career Choices of Iranian Dental Students. Medical Principles and Practice (2008). https://doi.org/10.1159/000117796
Krumboltz, J. D., & Worthington, R. L. The school-to-work transition from a learningtheory perspective.Career Development Quarterly Special Issues: School-to-Work Transitions, (1999).
Kuijpers, M., & Meijers, F. Leeromgeving voor loopbaanleren. Onderzoek naar relaties tussen de leeromgeving en loopbaancompetenties van vmbo en mbo leerlingen. [Learning environment for career learning. Research on relations between learning environment and career competences of students in (pre) vocational education students].Pedagogische Studien, 92, 93109. (2009).
Mitchell, L. K. & Krumbolt, J. D. Krumboltz’s Learning Theory of Career Choice and Counselling in Brown, D., Brooks, L. & Associates (eds) (3rd edition) Career Choice and Development. San Francisco, California: Jossey Bass. (1996).
Mittendorff, K., Jochems, W., Meijers, F., & Den Brok, P. Differences and similarities in the use of the portfolio and personal development plan for career guidance in various vocational schools in The Netherlands. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 60, (2008):75-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1363682070182890
Mohd, F., Salleh, A. M., & Mustapha, R. The influence of contextual aspect on career decision making of Malaysian Technical Students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Science 7,369-375. (2010).
Myburgh, J. E. An empirical analysis of career choice factors influencing first year accounting students at the University of Pretoria. Meditari Accounting Research Journal, 13(2), (2005): 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/10222529200500011
Novakovic, A. & Fouad, N. A. Background, Personal, and Environmental influence on Career Planning of adolescent Girls. Journal of Career Development. 40(3) (2012) : 223-244. Accessed August 23, 2018 http://www.sagepub. Com
Numale, M. K. Guidance and Counselling Education. Cape Coast: Yaci Publications. (2007).
Parson, Frank “Choosing a Vocation” Accessed April 28, 2020 https://prezi.com/1fmqxqmrs4e8/frank-parsons-theory-of-vocational-development/
Perrone, K. M., Sedlacek, E. W. & Alexander, M. C. Gender and ethnic differences in career goal attainment. Career Development Quarterly. 50(2), (2001): 168-178. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2001.tb00981.x
Pinkney, J. W., & Bozik, C. M. Career Development Inventory: A review. In J. Kapes, M. and E. White-field (Eds.). A counsellors’ guide to career assessment instruments (3rd ed.) (1994): 263-267.
Rodrigo, J. M., Morgan, V. M., Winning, T. Thomson, M., Marshal, I. R., Gotjamanos, T. and Wendell, E.Socio-demographic backgrounds and career decisions of Australian and Newzealand dental students. Journal of Dental Education. 70(2), (2006): 169-178.
Schneider, B. and Stevenson, D. The ambitious generation: America’s Teenagers, motivated but directionless. New Haven: Yale University Press(1999).
Stebleton, Robert, Career Choice, Accessed April 27, 2020.https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1VSNG_enGH647GH795&sxsrf=ALeKk03v_5Gbpcoqo95KS3l2zXqJ65KxQ%3A1588590874342&ei=GvmvXqzDFITFgQbgzLjoBQ&q=stebelton+robert&oq=stebelton+robert&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1CZ5BBY1YARYPygEWgAcAB4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwisuIiWiprpAhWEYsAKHWAmDl0Q4dUDCAw&uact=5
Super, D. E. The Psychology of careers. New York. Harper and Row (1967).
Super, D. E. Career education and meaning of work. Washington DC: US. Office of Education (1976).
Tailor, A. I. & Buku, D. K. Basics in Guidance and counseling. (2nd Edition). Winneba: Department of Psychology and Education (2006).
The Educational System of Ghana,http://www.ghana.usembassy.gov/pdf/Accessed, March 26, 2020.
Wattles, D. W. The science of getting rich (2009). Accessed October 5, 2016. http://www.thescienceofgettingrich.net/
Witko, K. Bernes, K. R., Magnusson, K. & Bardick, A. D. Senior high school career planning: what students want. Journal of Educational Enquiry. Vol.6, (2005).
Worthington, R. L. & Juntunen, C. L. The vocational development of non-college-bound youth: counseling psychology and the school-to-work transition movement, Counselling Psychologist, 2. (1997).
Zinker, R. Developing career and employability skills: a US case study, Education and Training, 45, (2003).
Zunker, V. G. Career Counseling: Applied Concepts of Life Planning. Bruce/Cole, California: Pacific Grove,(1994).
Bernard Kofi Adinkrah, PhD is a Tutor at the Kibi College of Education, Ghana. Email:benadinkrah@yahoo.co.uk
Charles Fosu-Ayarkwah is the Principal of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education.
Adinkrah, Bernard. and Fosu-Ayarkwah, Charles. “A Study on Factors Influencing the Career Choices of Students in Senior High Schools in Ghana: The Case of SHS Students in the Abuakwa South Municipality.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 1, no.1 (2020): 29-38. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2020054
© 2020 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
