ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to find the extent career choice serve as determinants of Secondary School Students Academic Performance in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey design was used in the study. The sample used for the study was 200 Senior Secondary School Students of 2015/2016 School Session. The sample was obtained by stratified random sampling. Five (5) secondary schools were sampled out of the ten (10) schools in the local government. Forty (40) students were randomly sampled in each school regardless of the age, sex and socio economic status. This was made up of 82 males and 118 females’ students. The research Instrument used in this study was structured questionnaire tagged Career Choice Determinant Among Secondary School Students in Abak Local Government (CCDASSS), containing a total of 22 items. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistics was used to analyze the null hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that Parental education, students ability and interest, socio-economic status and peer influence significantly influences students’ career choice. Based on these findings, it was recommended that more effective guidance counselling services should be rendered by professionals in schools, with major objectives of identifying and harnessing the potentials of the young adolescent. Counsellors should work directly with parents with the view of helping them to improve their effectiveness in guiding their children especially as regards showing faith in their children’s ability, interest, skills and personality. Professional career counsellors should include the students in the selecting process, considering interest, ability, skills and personality of the students.