The Role Of Self Awareness And Personality In Making Vocational Choice In Schools In Imo State

ABSTRACT

The study aimed at looking into the role of “Self-Awareness and Personality in making Vocational choice Schools in Imo State”. The main purpose of the study was to examine some of the roles which knowledge and understanding of personality play as a determinant factor in making vocational choice. To carry out the study the researcher had to formulate research questions. The population   for the study was from five (5) different secondary schools in Owerri Municipal which was randomly selected. The main instrument for the study was the questionnaire, using the questionnaire; the information collected from the subjects was analyzed. And the analysis of information indicated that students lacks adequate information concerning the ensiles before they chose a vocation and even some of them are being influenced by their parents, peers, social media, and relations in their choice of vocation. Majority of them choose a vocation outside their interest, capabilities and aptitudes the researchers made recommendations regarding the findings which includes administration of psychological tests to students ,posting counselors to schools, improving the training of counselors by the government making career day or week feature more prominently in the school programme.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher discusses the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study as well as the research questions.

Background of the Study

Making a choice work is a task that requires carefulness in selection choice on vocation will determine one’s life style, his companionship and general behaviours.

In order to make wise vocational choice the student has to be objective in analyzing his qualifications in relationship to occupations surrounding him, if such student ignores this idea, he is likely to make an unrealistic vocational choice which may make him unhappy and unfulfilled in his life time which will also be accompanied with feelings of disappointments, frustrations and inferiority feelings.

Holland theory (1976:47) assumes that at the time of vocational choice the person is the product of interaction of his particular heredity with a variety of cultural and personal forces including peers, parents and significant adults, his social class, culture and physical environment. He holds the views that each person has a life style compounded by values, interests, aptitudes personality factors, intelligence and self-concept which helps to eliminate him in differing degrees towards any occupational environment.

In making vocational choice, the youth lacks knowledge about activities involved; some based their choice on special attractions such as job offering to them e.g. uniform, financial benefits without caring whether they have the attitude for the job. Some parents who have little information about occupation influence their children for those careers which they consider well paid and prestigious in the society regardless of the talents, interests, aptitude of their children or child. Every individual has his or her natural talent and occupation that is inborn and will need to discover them.

Parson (2009) has been regarded the father of vocational guidance. He published a book called “choosing vocation” which served as a reference for those who will engage in counseling of youths in planning their future, vocational counseling should not aim at any creating a single choice for the client but several choices, from which the client can make a choice, this is done by firstly having a general appraisal of the clients potentialities through the use of objective instruments

Statement of Problem

According to Bakare (2017:1) quoting Hoppock (2007) the purpose of counseling is to help the client to recognize his needs and values to see how these affect the goals that he seeks to reach to identify these goals and to arrange them as well as he can in order of priority, to discover the possible courses of action which may ‘ bring him closer to the goals he seeks and anticipate as accurately as possible, the result of each course of action in terms of his own goals. One important task in the career choice process is to identify the goals which an individual is striving to achieve and to arrange these in order of priority. Put in another way, one of the most basic problems in vocational counseling is to help the counselee to find out what he hopes to get and in what he hopes to get have the best chances of getting what he wants.

Moreover, if an individual chooses a job that has the potentials for his basic needs, then he has laid the foundation for successful training for the job, obtaining satisfaction in the job, for holding the job and for performing his duties efficiently. But the problem is that many youths makes poor vocational choices because of unrealistic vocational aspirations.

If you look at the political field, you will notice that most people who contest for elections into various posts are not qualified at all. Take for example somebody who is trained as an. engineer contesting for local government chairmanship election. How then can such person deliver for the people when he doesn’t know anything about public administration? There are so many evidences that if individuals are not employed according to their profession they will perform below expectations. He/she may become dissatisfied, maladjusted and incompetent in his preferred vocation.

Few people can be happy doing their job which is beyond their capacity on the other hand; few people can also be happy doing a job which does not employ their ability to the fullest. Therefore, the vocational choice which students makes must be in keeping with their personality characteristics like interests, abilities, values, motives, needs, choosing a vocation that does not meet these expectations can be an ugly experience. Youths due to lack of self knowledge about themselves and personalities styles make wrong vocational choice some even go into vocation as a result of inexperienced advice from their parents.

 Purpose Of The Study

The general aim of this study is to examine the role of self awareness and personality traits in making vocational choice in Schools in Imo State.

The purpose of this study is to find out:

1. Whether students select vocation in conformity with their interest and personality styles
2. Whether parents, relations, peers and the society influences the student’s choice of their vocations.
3. Whether the students have full knowledge about themselves, their personality etc before they choose their vocation.

 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study has been delimited to the role of self awareness and personality in making vocational choice due to limited resources in terms of time constraints, the study will be confined to secondary students in Owerri municipal.

Significance of Study

Early education in Nigeria has little or no room at all for vocational guidance and counseling. Even in these modern days where policies have incorporated such vocational counseling services enjoyed by our applicants are nowhere near adequate, vocation even a life time occupation. People within the country may have either been suggested by their friends, social media or chosen by their parents. The school environments/authorities merely had to impose which ever vocation or career that is available.

This study is significant in that it will make students to be aware or make them to see the importance of reaching their capabilities/interests and aptitudes with suitable vocation of their choices. Vocation which they have interest in without any form of pressure from anyone.

The study will also be suitable for the society at large because most people make quick decisions based on material considerations without regards to best knowledge of themselves and their personality characteristics which will soon lead to lack of interest in the job.

The study will also help to educate parents not to force their children into a vocation they do not have aptitudes and interest for.

Research Questions

For the purpose of this research, the researcher formulated the following research questions:

1. To what extent do students choose vocations outside their interest, capabilities and aptitudes?
2. To what extent do parents, relations and peers influences the students in their choice of vocation?
3. To what extent do vocational information provide students with knowledge about themselves before they choose their vocation?
   

   ---

   Pages:  54

   Category: Project

   Format:  Word & PDF               

   Chapters: 1-5                                          

   Source: Imsuinfo                            

   Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.