ENHANCING CAREER DECISION-MAKING THROUGH CAREER INFORMATION, CAREER APPRAISAL AND CAREER ORIENTATION SERVICES AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the influence of career guidance services on career decision-making among Senior Secondary School students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study was motivated by the increasing difficulty experienced by students in making appropriate career decisions due to inadequate career information, limited selfunderstanding and insufficient exposure to occupational opportunities. The study was guided by three objectives which investigated the influence of career information service, career appraisal service and career orientation service on students’ career decision-making. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 32,980 Senior Secondary Two (SS II) students in the 256 public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. A sample of 200 students was selected through stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument titled Career Guidance Services and Career Decision-Making Questionnaire (CGSCDQ). The instrument was validated by experts from the Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Uyo, Uyo. Reliability testing using Cronbach Alpha produced reliability coefficients of 0.84 for career information service, 0.82 for career appraisal service and 0.81 for career orientation service, with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.83. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that career information service, career appraisal service and career orientation service significantly influenced career decision-making among Senior Secondary School students in Akwa Ibom State. The study concluded that effective career guidance services play an important role in helping students make informed, realistic and suitable career decisions. It was recommended that secondary schools should strengthen career guidance programmes through regular career information dissemination, students’ appraisal activities and career orientation programmes.